Portraits

(Scroll down to see portraits portfolio.)

“Other People’s Children” is my series of portraits and stories of people whom the world has cast aside or overlooked. Yet we have found to be lovable and beautiful.

Family is where the lines really get blurred. Do I include the adopted gramas and the pets here? My sister, Sue Ann, is also in “Suicides” and is included in “Other People’s Children”. Family is complicated.

18 of my close Friends have committed suicide. One of them was also my sister. They say to “never meet your heroes.” What if your friend is so inspiring that she becomes your hero? Don’t just look at the paintings. Read the stories.

My first painting on canvas
My very first painting on canvas

I started painting portraits of the people in my life who had taken their own lives for a second volume of “Other People’s Children”. It got to be too much. So I started to alternate between painting personal Heroes and Suicides. Then someone asked me if anyone fit into both of those categories. I thought for a moment and said, “Unfortunately, yes.” Just five months after I painted my first “hero/suicide” another hero took her own life.

My painting ‘career’ (such as it is) started on March 1, 2016, with a self-portrait based on my very first selfie. As of this writing (10/6/2019), I have completed close to 300 pieces, including five additional Self-Portraits.

I added another category of portraits. I painted Jim Morrison. A number of my personal heroes have been singers. Jim Morrison is not a hero of mine, but I do like his songs, and he was beautiful. We don’t know his cause of death, so he doesn’t fit in the suicide category. I figure any number of people may be interested in searching for paintings of Singers, so that is now a category here, with a lot of overlap.

Portraits



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selfportrait10

Self-Portrait #10

Self-Portrait...
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saharaneyes

Saharan Eyes

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selfie8

Self-Portrait #8

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John Prine

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Leticia

Leticia

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Sisters

Sisters

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mikev-1

Mike

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el_che

El Che

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self6

Self-Portrait #6

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cranbeth

Cranford & Bethann

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selfportrait

Self-Portrait

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1900upton

1900 Upton

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reset

Reset

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pete+marie

Pete & Marie

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tony

Tony

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jamie

Jamie

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ethel

Grama Ethel

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stranger

Stranger

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biko

Steven Biko

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RachelCarson

Rachel Carson

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che

Che

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mumia

Mumia Abu Jamal

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gramadodier

Grama Dodier

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karlmarx

Karl Marx

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mahatmagandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas K. Gandhi (Oct. 2, 1869 -...

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anapauker

Ana Pauker

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mavis

Mavis Staples and Pops

Mavis Staples is another voice of the...

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peteseeger

Pete Seeger

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odettaprof

Odetta

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marx

Marx

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fidelche

Fidel & Ché

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marley

Bob Marley

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mlk

MLK

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dorothyday

Dorothy Day

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trocmeprof

André Trocmé

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x

“X”

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theMahatma

The Mahatma

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emmagoldman

Emma Goldman

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dimitri

Dimitri

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amberevans

Amber

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michael

Michael

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dean+prince

Dean & Prince

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fredk

Fred K.

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petes

Peter

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bobbyprof

Bobby

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sueann

Sue Ann, Yearbook Day 1971

I decided to paint this moment in...

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lynn

Lynn

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scott

Scott

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godfatherprofpic

Godfather, 4438 Shoreline Drive

I am the youngest of four siblings,...

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OPCbackprof

Other People’s Children – the book

It's here, folks! A book with these...

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angie

Angie

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robertjoyce

Robert and Joyce

I met Robert when he was an...

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dot

Dot

Dorothy Williams was one of our adopted...

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brad

Brad

I met Brad on a late spring evening,...

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nancy

Nancy

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gary

Gary

St. Marie of Paris said, "Each person...

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pops

Pops

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myron

Myron

The other day a friend dropped by...

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kenny

Kenny

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alex

Alex the Albanian

This is a portrait of Alex Bejleri or...

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oscar

Oscar

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nebraska

Nebraska

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rosalie

Rosalie

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