This painting dates back to my illustration days at Parsons School of Design. I was taking Painting 101, a class taught by the late, great Robert Levering. As I began to get comfortable with the materials, I experimented with more aggressive color in my creations. For years I painted with an overly saturated palette; people had blue shadows, orangish skin, and bright red noses and ears. “Bob” made the comment that I was making my subjects look as if they were suffering from a cold, yet he kept pushing me to have fun and keep experimenting.

For some reason, people tend to think this is Patrick Stewart. Pure coincidence. Honest.

1973
Acrylic on panel
20 x 30 inches
Painted circa 1995 by Matt Cauley