“Here in these sketches, the artist played, practiced, failed, triumphed, and ultimately set his course for each of his public statements in paint.”
Painting out-of-doors began in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and in the potato fields and by the ocean on the South Fork of Long Island over thirty years ago. Encouragement came from my uncle, the artist William Kienbusch, and from my parents. While working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I spent hours viewing exhibitions of Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Burchfield, Inness, Kensett, and Constable. I also spent time in the Met’s Prints and Drawings Department studying watercolors by Sargent, Homer, and Marin. Consecutive summers painting plein air at the Skowhegan School honed my skills, provided the freedom to explore the countryside, and started a life-long love affair with Maine.