Americans Who Tell the Truth

He was born in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated in 1969 from Harvard College with a degree in English Literature. At Harvard he took a couple of courses in drawing which changed the direction of his creative life --- from the written word to the image. Also, during this time, he was very active in Civil Rights and in the Anti-Vietnam War movement.

After college and moving to Maine in 1970, he taught himself drawing, printmaking, and painting. While trying to become proficient in printmaking & painting, he illustrated widely. For twelve years he did the editorial page drawings for the Maine Times newspaper, illustrated National Audubon's children's newspaper Audubon Adventures, and approximately 30 books.

Now, his paintings & prints are in collections all over the U.S. and Europe. A collection of his drawings & etchings, Speaking Fire at Stones, was published in 1993. He is well know for his series of 70 painted etchings based on William Blake's Proverbs of Hell, and for another series of 50 painted etchings reflecting on the metaphor of the Annunciation. His painting tends toward the narrative and the surreal, and he has not been, until this time, a portrait painter.

He lives, with his partner Gail Page, also a painter, in Brooksville, Maine.

If you read his book and look at the people he has chosen to paint, you can see that he is very courageous and amplifying the courage and truth telling that are so vitally needed at this point in our nation's history. With Thought Cime legislation passed by the House of Representatives and resting in the Senate, it is time for all of us to remember the history of the true American heroes, those who challenged the system and spoke out for the oppressed, championing truth, liberty and justice for all.

The Reception will be a rare opportunity to meet a wonderful artist, heroic American, in person, as well as those whose words and actions he has honored through his work- including James Bell, Daniel Ellsberg, Janice Mirikitani, Carols Munos, Eva Paterson, Cindy Sheehan, Lateefah Simon, and Cecil Williams. There will also be presentations by youth. The event is free and open to the public.

On February 1, 2008 a show of 92 portraits will open in San Francisco in two locations: The African American Art and Culture Complex at 762 Fulton St. and at the Administrative Offices of the Courts at 455 Golden Gate Ave. For more information call: 510-486-2340