1946 - 1949

This is work from my time at Washington University Art School.

We were started off with still lives, and I got tired of the ones they made. They were mostly conventional looking—jars, pots, flowers—so I made my own to paint. I did a few paintings of rooms, the first room of my own.

During the second year, I decided to major in fine arts and we began working with live models. I often painted my art student friends. I also have a couple paintings of figures remembered from events during my childhood, including the Orthodox Wedding, which are some of the few things I did without models.

Most of us students had paintings mainly by artists from the turn of the century, and art to me meant 18th and 19th century art. I had never seen modern art or gone to art museums before I started art school. I was very much influenced by Picasso, Matisse, and the great artists of the early 20th century.

I learned to use different media and printmaking techniques. I learned to work very hard at drawing, and I still do. I make many, many drawings before I begin a piece.