Nude sketches and portraits, like the etudes of a pianist, are the exercises that put trust in the hand, eye and memory to the greatest degree.

As an artist, I spend hours examining people’s faces, watching the positions of their body. Years of observation, looking for characteristic lines, trying to capture a movement, a look. Maybe it is the ability to detect unique nuances that I developed over the years of professional training in the sport of fencing. Practice which led to a gold medal in the 1969 Maccabiah games.

In fencing I had to detect the beginning of the tiniest of movements in order to anticipate the opponent’s moves. To swing the blade in one quick and sharp gesture in order to pre empt my opponent. Years later I exchanged the sword for a brush, yet the sharpness, speed and precise location of the line remained. And so, with each sketch, I try to capture the uniqueness with a quick glance, and with a wave of the brush, transfer it to the page.

I find playfulness and pleasure in the rapid sketches of a few minutes that comprise a whole world in itself. You’re welcome to get an impression and see how the movement is to be found upon the page and remains there, even though those documented have long ago moved on with their lives.