I see the world through the intensity of my life. Though I have primarily been a financial journalist in New York, I started studying art seriously in 2008 at the Art Students League in New York, doing life drawings (nudes in very quick poses), then watercolor. In 2012, I began studying portrait painting in oil with Janet Boltax at the Montclair Art Museum and continue working with her in her amazing class. Since retiring from my job teaching English and advising the school newspaper at Morristown-Beard School in 2016 after 12 years, I have devoted my time to painting in my new home studio, transformed from a grungy two-car garage. My work includes portraits, expressive and realistic, as well as interior scenes, nightscapes, and my current series, Kitty Boy Daze, depicting our tabby cats, Harvey and Dudley, who are besotted with each other, in various surprising poses.
Ida Picker: Elijah
This is an expressive portrait of Elijah who was lit from below, which plays havoc with the usual positioning of lights and shadows. It’s one of my favorite pieces because it adds an unusual dimension to this handsome young guy.
