NEW PAINTINGS

I have been working on some smaller pieces that were first shown at the recent Jenkintown Art Festival:

"Bridge at East Oak Lane"
16 x 12, Casein on muslin covered board

This scene is along the West Trenton SEPTA commuter rail line, just inside the Philadelphia City limits. I was drawn to the daylight fading over the tracks, casting magenta light onto the clouds over the adjacent buildings, as warm yellow light glows from apartments within the structure.



"Walk in the Park, Spring Day"
12 x 9, Casein on muslin covered board

With autumn bringing its crisp harvest palette, it's interesting to see the contrast with the pastel tones of spring. This small but lush piece depicts a woman with two children enjoying a walk on a warm afternoon in late April, as trees burst into blossom.


"Water Nymphs and Bronze Goddess"
12 x 9, Casein on muslin covered board

This small painting features a bronze sculpture from the 1924 Swann Memorial Fountain in downtown Philly's Logan Square, designed by Alexander Calder and dedicated to philanthropist Wilson Swann. Though an iconic local landmark, few people examine the sculpture closely enough to realize the sculptor's pun--his grandly traditional nude "river goddess" is grasping a geyser-spewing swan, thus acknowledging the fountain's namesake.

Painting for MRAC Collaboration with
Laurel Hill Cemetery

During the Halloween season in October 2013, the Manayunk Roxborough Art Center will host a series of events celebrating Philadelphia's historic Victorian cemetery, Laurel Hill. For more information, visit this link:

http://mrartcenter.org/images-and-impressions-of-laurel-hill/

 

I've contributed this painting to the "impressions of Laurel Hill" art show opening Sunday, Oct 13:

"Location, location, location" by Bruce Starr
2013, 36 x 24, Casein on muslin covered panel

Although I created a stylized fantasy piece, I still wanted to convey the amazing setting, as the cemetery rises on the bluffs overlooking the Schulkill River. Drippingly ornate Victorian mausoleums and crypts are tucked precariously on terraces above Kelly Drive, along with granite blocks and obelisks standing like dominoes in undulating rows along the cliff sides. Exploring the cemetery, I could not shake the feeling that I had wandered onto a Tim Burton movie set, so I decided to paint accordingly!

 



Collaboration with Mordechai Rosenstein

I recently had the honor of collaborating with renowned artist Mordechai Rosenstein. A calligraphy artist most famous for his graphic interpretations of passages from the Torah, Mordechai's work is valued and displayed by not only private collectors, but by synagogues throughout the United States and around the world.

Mordechai and I designed this tablet for an exhibit coming to Philadelphia in November, "Beyond the Railcar", documenting a project by school kids to better understand the holocaust. They collected 6 million paper clips to help them comprehend the number of people killed by the Nazis.

 

The main panel depicts the back of a boxcar like the ones used to transport Jews to concentration camps. The center plaque is a Liberty Bell silhouette, acknowledging the Philadelphia exhibit location, filled with brass paper clips! Mordechai then painted a quotation from Leviticus that is inscribed on the Liberty Bell itself, "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof"