Most of the subjects I paint come from my imagination; this has been the case since my early foreheads. I love doing realistic portraiture and always look forward to that moment when I see that I've captured the essence of a specific person or animal that I am painting. But even more exciting is when I capture, say, some essential dogness in a dog that I've invented, or a deep spiritual quality in one of my fictitious rabbis. There's almost a symbiotic relationship between my realistic and my fictitious portraiture; each furthers the development of the other.

Because of how quickly they need to be executed, most of my monoprints are fictitious portraits. My current roster of subjects includes dogs, cats, camels, ostriches, kings, queens, and, of course, the rabbis that I've been painting since 1994. As you can see, I often paint fruits or other objects on all my subjects' heads, which makes the composition more interesting and gives added dimension to the piece. I'm always willing to add to my list of subjects--and things to put on their heads--so if you have a particular image in mind, feel free to contact me about a commission.

"Pascal Lamb with Kosher Wine",
Monoprint, 2001

"The Red Heifer with Coffee",
Oil on wood, 2001

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