work > Optimist Club

Household Group
oil on canvas
19 x 30 inches
Self-Isolating
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Social Distancing
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Tangled
oil on paper
15 x19 inches
The Pessimist
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Lessons in Optimism
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Bad Habits
oil on paper
16 x 19 inches
Different Ideas
oil on canvas
24 x 24 inches
Deep Conversation
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Blind Faith
oil on canvas
16 x 24 inches
Pecking Order
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Death in the Family
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Loss of Containment
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Like Father Like Son
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
In the Classroom
oil on canvas
18 x 24 inches
A Gift
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Partisan Behavior
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Deposition
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
Envy
oil on paper
14 x 18 inches
Fallen Hero
oil on paper
16 x 16 inches
A Watchful Eye
oil on paper
15 x 19 inches
At the Meeting
oil on canvas
18 x 30 inches

the Optimist Club series statement

This series of narrative paintings investigate the complex relationship between the seemingly opposite views of an optimist and pessimist. This series of paintings was created to investigate these different positions in a serious but tongue-in-cheek manor. These observation based paintings have a simple compositional structure to allow the viewer to focus on the interaction of the characters and the various symbolic elements introduced into each still-life painting. For the main characters a bronze of Abe Lincoln’s head plays the role of the optimist contrasted sharply by a paper bag head with a mysterious identity as the pessimist. Although both characters in the series oppose one another in superficial ideals humor and insight allow for a closer examination of the facts and fictions each stands for.