Reflections on a Life in the Arts

My life has been blessed with opportunities of engagement with an array of people and places – from farmers in the Georgian Republic to the Contras of Nicaragua to youngsters on the streets of Harlem. I spent my filmmaking career documenting the stories of people in their unique settings. Through the lens of my 16mm camera, light and composition and accuracy were essential to capturing stories.

Retired from filmmaking, I picked up a paintbrush in place of the camera. In plein air or studio settings I can quietly observe and record with perspective beyond motion picture storytelling. I can imagine and paint the summer’s dance of a tree or the stately elegance of an aging barn next to a tree blooming with new life. Recording with brush and paint has become my poetry and obsession.

At 94, I can say that I’ve been truly privileged to have spent a lifetime in the arts – beginning with my first job out of USC Film School, Art Director of The Blob – to the current time of reflection and creativity.