N.Y. Self-Portrait, 32" x 24", acrylic and assemblage on canvas, 1985. Artist's collection.

This expressionistic self-portrait was executed shortly after I returned to my Florida studio from a trip to New York City. The surface of the canvas is littered with a group of items that had collected in my briefcase during the trip--film canisters, airline tickets, plastic silverware, mini liquor bottle, a bag of peanuts, and cardboard allergy medicine boxes, etc.. All of these items were arranged in a thick layer of wet paint on a stretched canvas. Once the paint had dried these associative "objects" became the topography of a high-relief three dimensional surface over which I would paint the illusionistic aspect of the work--the portrait.

The portrait is remotely inspired by a Van Gogh self-portrait I saw on my recent trip to New York. I was influenced by so many images that I saw on that trip. This painting could be said to be an exercise in purging the overwhelming inspiration of experiencing so many incredible works of art. I rendered an image of myself in a pastiche of different references to styles which I was attempting to release from my recollection of the works I had seen. I have always enjoyed this painting for its interplay between the objects on the surface and their multifold relationship to the illusionistic and expressionistic over-painting.