Shortly after graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, I started a series of woodcut portraits to keep my mind and hand keen. I had seen many of my classmates leave school only to become quickly immersed in the day-to-day business of the 'real world' and stop producing art at all. I was determined not to let that happen to me, so I set about work on a series of woodcuts (the most portable printmaking medium requiring the least amount of equipment) in which I would attempt to push the limits of what the board would give me. Through a mixture of intricate cutting, stippling an brushing to bring up the natural texture of the wood grain, I found I was able to mimic a range of tonalities previously available to me only through drawing or etching.

This print was something of a breakthrough piece for me. It was also well-received in several juried printmaking competitions, and at one point was simultaneously on display in four exhibitions in Philadelphia, New York, Israel and Japan.

[detail enlargement]