Journey

Through a muted realism, my aim is to capture the hushed poetry of ancient alleyways and the silence of cities folding in on their secrets. Far from the spectacular, my painting attends to the subtlety of declining light that turns the familiar into an enigma and invites the viewer to probe the penumbra to discover the tension and mystery that inhabit every corner.

First steps and studies

Born in 1954 in Brooklyn, N.Y.C., I began my artistic training at the Art Students League, then at the Pratt-Phoenix School of Design, where I specialised in illustration. After travelling across the United States and Europe, I settled in France for love of Paris and of the woman who would become my wife. These two passions led me to obtain French nationality in 2010, and to choose the Chevreuse valley as the setting for our family life.

A career in publishing

My early years in France were marked by learning the language and searching for my own style. Perseverance allowed me to enter the world of publishing. For more than 35 years, I worked with renowned houses such as Gallimard, Seuil Jeunesse and Bayard… After illustrating countless covers and interiors for children’s books, I created my own albums as author-illustrator. During this period, my work, focused on the world of childhood, was characterised by a vivid, colourful and luminous style.

Towards a new artistic direction

Today, I choose to leave paper behind and devote myself to painting on canvas and to my Pénombre collection. This shift, inspired by the Dutch masters of the 17th century (Vermeer, Van Eyck…) as well as contemporary artists such as Hopper and Soulages, reflects the depth of my aesthetic evolution.

Speaking to the imagination

In order to uncover the emotion and melancholy of timeless scenes, I establish a merciless duel between darkness and light and sketch a narrative backdrop. My deepest satisfaction would be for the viewer to immerse themselves in the canvas and in a story that echoes their own sensibility.