JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE

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In a few weeks I will travel to Philadelphia to attend the 50^th reunion of Jefferson Medical College’s class of 1965.  At the request of our class reunion committee I did a painting of the student entrance to the old college building that we will give to the university.

Rendering of the original College and hospital

Student entrance

Greeting us every day at the top of the stairs was Thomas Eakins" painting, The Gross Clinic.  Eakins studied anatomy at the college with Jefferson's esteemed Dr. Samuel Gross.

Although I knew it would be a major challenge, it seemed fitting that this should be the focus of my painting.  And I was not disappointed.  The painting created more anxiety in me than anything I've ever painted. The technical challenges were great, but the real source of my anxiety was  knowing that my work would be seen by my classmates and colleagues.  For most of them it would be the single piece of work on which to judge my decision to compromise a medical career for art.

Jeff   watercolor  16x26"

DRAWING ON MY PAST

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Or should I say drawing from my past?  Better yet, how about simply drawing my past, because that is what I’ve been doing.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently conducting a private retrospective of my work.  Fortunately I have digital files of most of my artwork, as well as portfolios filled with drawings and sketches from the past 50 plus years.  The volume of the work is impressive.  Most of it is pretty good, some of it is very good, and some of it is not so good to awful. I saved everything.  Seeing my work evolve has been gratifying, and confronting the failures has been sobering.  The experience has inspired me to move forward, building on the good while learning from the bad.

On a recent visit to family and friends I photographed the elementary school I attended (as did my father).  It opened in 1916 and was shut down several years ago; residents are now trying to raise the money needed to save the building for use as a community center and library.  It did not take long for me to decide to paint the building once I returned to my studio.

As often happens, one thing leads to another, and the next thing I knew I was painting my high school using photos I took at our 50^th reunion 7 years ago.

And the wheels keep turning.  Elementary school, high school.  What’s next, Jr. high, college?  Maybe both, and just like that a new series emerges – painting the “places of my life”.  As a result, I just spent hours going through old photos and slides looking for photos I knew I took about 20 years ago of my college campus.  I found the images I wanted, and planned on painting my colleges Administrative Building where we had most of our classes.  However the 50^th reunion of our medial school class is this October, and the reunion committee has asked for a painting of the old Jefferson Medical College building, so my orderly progression will be a bit disrupted.

After that I have a lifetime of drawing to do.

I love being an artist, it is a way of life, and he work never ends.