Paintings
Welcome to the Dov Art Gallery. I hope you enjoy perusing my work. If you see something that you would like to have, please go to the "Purchase Dov Art" page where you can purchase prints and some originals. In most cases you will have to email me for pricing on originals
Embrace
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas. In this work, we see two male figures in an exchange of affection. There is, however, an intended spiritual meaning. The green represents the earth, as depicted in the meadow, the blue representing heaven. The work therefore speaks as well of those of us who are earth bound embracing heaven.
Afterwards
apx. 24” x 34” when mounted on a wall two framed acrylics on canvas. The framing is part of the completed piece and was made by the artist with the assistance of the model. We see a post nuclear image of a broken world, a gaunt man plucking a single head of wheat. The painting must be hung askew and the wires in the back are pitched to set the correct angles.
The Blue
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas The two models for this were so much enjoying relaxing in each other’s arms, they failed to notice that I was working. In the end I asked them what they thought. Their answer is the title of the piece."
Vdejeuner
Facing It
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas A nude grabs hold of his own life and steps boldly forward."
Afterglow
20" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas. This is part of my photographic style. I also think it is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever produced.
Arbortangulum 417
Arbotangulum 493
Arbotangulum 562
Asleep on 911
Avec Hommage A' Vincent
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas The title of this work means ""with homage to Vincent"". I refer to my style as Neo-Post-Impressionist. The greatest of the Post-Impressionists, and a tremendous influence on my work was Vincent Van Gogh, who habitually signed his paintings simply ""Vincent"". In this work, I have two visual elements that specifically recall two of Van Gogh's most famous works, the stars of ""Starry Night"" and the cypress trees of ""Cypress Trees"". The third Van Gogh element is the stylistic reference to the late Van Gogh self-portraits which used increasingly vibrant brush strokes and bold colors to depict a bearded man. Finally, I make my reference explicit with the incorporation of the title into the work itself, at the lower right hand corner, above and as part of my signature to the work. In the selection of the blues and purples to represent the flesh tones of this work, I make the man in the picture part of the environment he occupies. "
Be Careful What You Ask For
8" x 10" Photograph
Beyond Endurance
Bi
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas – As my experiments with restricted palettes continue, this is the most restricted of all, raw sienna and burnt umber, and yet, on some levels it reminds me of Rembrandt, kind of Matisse meets Rembrandt, I suppose.
Bursting The Boundaries
Overall display size apx. 36" x 36" Acrylic on five small canvasses. Against the background of the gay rainbow, a nude African American male, leaps out of time and the very limitations of the canvasses themselves, refusing to be confined.
Chain
11" x 17" Manipulated Photograph – One of my favorite models has a spectacularly developed body, but alas, a life deep in the closet. So, displaying him requires careful obscuring of his real identity. In working with this photograph, the face had to go. After that, the links of a chain suggested themselves almost immediately. My partner is considering having this piece reproduced in bulk as a wall paper border for our dining room. Our children’s future in-laws should find it engaging, no doubt.
Color Etude #1
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas This is one of the very first pieces I produced with watercolor pencils. One thing is for sure. This model is always a great sport."
Copse But No Robbers
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas – Many of my models have requested that I find outdoor space where I could work with them. Then a friend of mine took me on a tour of his acreage and offered me unlimited use of this particular copse of trees. It’s a wonderful venue for the work.
De Profundis
"16” x 20” x 7” apx. Acrylic and Copper Wire on Wood Referring to Psalm 130 (Out of the depths have I called to You, O Lord) one sees a human figure reaching out for his freedom from a swamp of despair."
The Doppler Effect
Double Mint
8" x 10" Photograph An electronically manipulated image of buttocks taken from below.
DSC00697
DSC00699
Facing It
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas A nude grabs hold of his own life and steps boldly forward."
Firebird, The
" 24"" x 36"" Acrylic on Canvas.This piece is based on the 1910 ballet of Igor Stravinsky of the same title. One of my most cherished friends asked me, “What is happening in this picture?” Clearly, the answer to that question is ambiguous. Physiologically, if this is not a fantasy piece and he has no power to fly, he can only be in the middle of ascending to the summit of the rock or descending from it. He is in a position that is unmaintainable except for a flitting second. His hands are in a ballet gesture as is his left foot and his wings are clearly more costume than function. Is he about to take flight? Is he about to take his life? Is he about to dance in joy on the summit itself? The valley is bucolic and not one where one would expect to see such a costumed figure. Is his nudity and costume a defiance of convention? Where did he leave his clothes? This is not a piece with answers. This is meant to be a piece that provokes questions. However, in my role as just one more viewer, for me, it is ultimately about freedom. This painting takes me in new directions as an artist, somewhere between Mantegna and Dali. I have more to explore in this realm. However, in the piece, there are certain trademark features of my work – the streaky sky, the long hair, the highly textured boulder. Also, I borrowed an idea from my first non-self portrait after my marriage, “The Cigarette” in which I use sparse clothing to make the figure more naked than a true nude would be. The Cigarette was painted six years before the present piece. Much has happened artistically in the mean time. But some ideas are eternal."
Formal Attire
"16” x 20” Acrylic on Canvas A painting far longer in the planning than in the execution, a comic piece, and yet an intended reference to Rembrandt."
Freedom
A celebration of male assertion of the right of beauty, depicted on the canvas in neo-impressionist technique is a man of indistinct and therefore universal ethnicity with his face turned upward, his hair flowing behind him, decorated with metal ornament. He basks in the joy of his self-proclaimed liberation.
Grand Odalisque Après Ingres
"36"" x 24"" Acrylic on Canvas This work is a conscious parody of the Grande Odalisque painted by Ingres in 1704. In the other work, one sees a woman reclining on a chaise longue, her head on the right, her hips and breasts voluptuously displayed, about her various oriental items. The word ""Odalisque"" means harem dweller. And so, the gentleman in this painting is a ""kept man"" as it were. In certain details, the painting is a self-portrait, most importantly with the background of books."
Grasping Perfection And Emptiness
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas Occupying a relatively small portion of an otherwise blank varnished canvas, one sees from the back a male nude in a slightly open fetal position clasping a flower. His obvious tan line and muscularity speak of a life endlessly pursuing perfection in physical beauty, echoed in the flower in his grasp. Although he casts a shadow, the space he has constructed for himself is, in the final analysis, empty."
Guernica Again And Yet Again
"36"" x 24"" Acrylic on Canvas This work takes its title Picasso’s famous black and white piece. I have almost none of Picasso’s elements, except for the distended bodies. It is a personal reaction on my part to the Second War in Iraq."
Hope-Blood-Turandot
I Had A Vision Of The Abyss
"24” x 18” Acrylic on Canvas A surrealistic mélange of images, juxtapositions, ambiguities, and religious symbols, it is a dream, the meaning of which can only be found in dreams."
In His Dreams
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas The title of this work has a double meaning. Initially, it refers to the sleeping posture of the subject. Indeed the model fell asleep while posing for this piece. It also refers to the observation by one of my other models who is acquainted with this model that I exaggerated one of this model's features to a degree that this model would wish were true."
Intimacy: Passion And Aftermath
" Two panels framed together, each 16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas . Painters generally refer to paintings as being self-portraits. I prefer to think of these as autobiographical. I am the figure on the left of each of the two panels. In each panel, the background reflects the mood of the character on the left and is drawn from the same color family as his depiction. 'Nuff said."
In Unity Is Hope
"24"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas In this work, the intertwined bodies (modeled after myself and my partner) represent the unity of souls achieved by lovers. The rising sun represents hope."
Invitation To Dance
Two figures explode on to the dance floor of an old fashioned ballroom in joyous celebration of movement and life.
Les Messieurs D'Afton
36” x 48” Acrylic on Canvas (painting): By commission for a gay couple who bought a house in Afton, New York, where, they house not only themselves, but in the barn in back, their horses, we see a parody of the 1907 Picasso “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”. Picasso had five whores. Three of the whores have been transformed into two horses. The piece is full of many other details used to recall and transform the Picasso.
Male Curves #1
Due to a few weeks’ hiatus in my painting caused by some major upheavals in my life, my paint got kind of thick. For certain techniques, this can prove a major advantage – notably in the creation of highly textured palette knife work. By now, the viewer of these pages has no doubt concluded that I am fascinated, if not obsessed, with the male form, particularly the curves of the male form. When my commission for Les Messieurs d’Afton necessitated my growing comfortable with color work using a restricted palette, I began to appreciate the power such restriction accords. So, I decided to do a series which spoke to my favorite subject, the male form, took advantage of my thick paint, and also took advantage of some particularly nicely dimensioned models I happened upon. These paintings are meant to be in dialogue with each other, no one of them being the complete statement, but each being a complete work in its own right. Balzac did something similar when he christened his entire output of novels as La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy). So, all of these pieces are celebrations in their own right of male curves, but bear simple numerical titles like the Bachianas Brasilieras of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Male Curves #2
Due to a few weeks’ hiatus in my painting caused by some major upheavals in my life, my paint got kind of thick. For certain techniques, this can prove a major advantage – notably in the creation of highly textured palette knife work. By now, the viewer of these pages has no doubt concluded that I am fascinated, if not obsessed, with the male form, particularly the curves of the male form. When my commission for Les Messieurs d’Afton necessitated my growing comfortable with color work using a restricted palette, I began to appreciate the power such restriction accords. So, I decided to do a series which spoke to my favorite subject, the male form, took advantage of my thick paint, and also took advantage of some particularly nicely dimensioned models I happened upon. These paintings are meant to be in dialogue with each other, no one of them being the complete statement, but each being a complete work in its own right. Balzac did something similar when he christened his entire output of novels as La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy). So, all of these pieces are celebrations in their own right of male curves, but bear simple numerical titles like the Bachianas Brasilieras of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Mona Guy
Sadie
New Age, The
"24"" x 18"" Acrylic on Canvas My model posed for me for this painting over a video link. Actually, he and I have never met. But, once I was satisfied with his pose, he used the conferencing software to send me a still of it. This painting is rather a departure from that pose. None of the background details exist in the space where he was posing. This painting sets up a conflict between the classical and the modern. The figure in the painting has symbolically thrown away the trappings of the classical age -- his clothing, his bedding rumpled at the base of the bed, the pillows tossed on the floor, and the fire place. Instead, he kneels as a votary to the electronic age, represented by the laptop computer over which he is hunched. Indeed, he is utterly engrossed in that computer. All other space and time have disappeared for him. Above his head is a certificate he has received. It means nothing to him. The only thing that counts is what is displayed on that small screen. His pose is primal, almost apelike, as if he has regressed in evolution in front of the awesome power of this machine."
Hope-Blood-Turandot
Weltschmerz
313
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas. This is purely abstract piece. I see flowers in it. You can see what you wish. I finished painting it at 3:13 a.m..
Tree
Embrace
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas. In this work, we see two male figures in an exchange of affection. There is, however, an intended spiritual meaning. The green represents the earth, as depicted in the meadow, the blue representing heaven. The work therefore speaks as well of those of us who are earth bound embracing heaven.
Afterwards
apx. 24” x 34” when mounted on a wall two framed acrylics on canvas. The framing is part of the completed piece and was made by the artist with the assistance of the model. We see a post nuclear image of a broken world, a gaunt man plucking a single head of wheat. The painting must be hung askew and the wires in the back are pitched to set the correct angles.
The Blue
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas The two models for this were so much enjoying relaxing in each other’s arms, they failed to notice that I was working. In the end I asked them what they thought. Their answer is the title of the piece."
Vdejeuner
Facing It
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas A nude grabs hold of his own life and steps boldly forward."
Afterglow
20" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas. This is part of my photographic style. I also think it is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever produced.
Arbortangulum 417
Arbotangulum 493
Arbotangulum 562
Asleep on 911
Avec Hommage A' Vincent
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas The title of this work means ""with homage to Vincent"". I refer to my style as Neo-Post-Impressionist. The greatest of the Post-Impressionists, and a tremendous influence on my work was Vincent Van Gogh, who habitually signed his paintings simply ""Vincent"". In this work, I have two visual elements that specifically recall two of Van Gogh's most famous works, the stars of ""Starry Night"" and the cypress trees of ""Cypress Trees"". The third Van Gogh element is the stylistic reference to the late Van Gogh self-portraits which used increasingly vibrant brush strokes and bold colors to depict a bearded man. Finally, I make my reference explicit with the incorporation of the title into the work itself, at the lower right hand corner, above and as part of my signature to the work. In the selection of the blues and purples to represent the flesh tones of this work, I make the man in the picture part of the environment he occupies. "
Be Careful What You Ask For
8" x 10" Photograph
Beyond Endurance
Bi
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas – As my experiments with restricted palettes continue, this is the most restricted of all, raw sienna and burnt umber, and yet, on some levels it reminds me of Rembrandt, kind of Matisse meets Rembrandt, I suppose.
Bursting The Boundaries
Overall display size apx. 36" x 36" Acrylic on five small canvasses. Against the background of the gay rainbow, a nude African American male, leaps out of time and the very limitations of the canvasses themselves, refusing to be confined.
Chain
11" x 17" Manipulated Photograph – One of my favorite models has a spectacularly developed body, but alas, a life deep in the closet. So, displaying him requires careful obscuring of his real identity. In working with this photograph, the face had to go. After that, the links of a chain suggested themselves almost immediately. My partner is considering having this piece reproduced in bulk as a wall paper border for our dining room. Our children’s future in-laws should find it engaging, no doubt.
Color Etude #1
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas This is one of the very first pieces I produced with watercolor pencils. One thing is for sure. This model is always a great sport."
Copse But No Robbers
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas – Many of my models have requested that I find outdoor space where I could work with them. Then a friend of mine took me on a tour of his acreage and offered me unlimited use of this particular copse of trees. It’s a wonderful venue for the work.
De Profundis
"16” x 20” x 7” apx. Acrylic and Copper Wire on Wood Referring to Psalm 130 (Out of the depths have I called to You, O Lord) one sees a human figure reaching out for his freedom from a swamp of despair."
The Doppler Effect
Double Mint
8" x 10" Photograph An electronically manipulated image of buttocks taken from below.
DSC00697
DSC00699
Facing It
"20"" x 16"" Acrylic on Canvas A nude grabs hold of his own life and steps boldly forward."
Firebird, The
" 24"" x 36"" Acrylic on Canvas.This piece is based on the 1910 ballet of Igor Stravinsky of the same title. One of my most cherished friends asked me, “What is happening in this picture?” Clearly, the answer to that question is ambiguous. Physiologically, if this is not a fantasy piece and he has no power to fly, he can only be in the middle of ascending to the summit of the rock or descending from it. He is in a position that is unmaintainable except for a flitting second. His hands are in a ballet gesture as is his left foot and his wings are clearly more costume than function. Is he about to take flight? Is he about to take his life? Is he about to dance in joy on the summit itself? The valley is bucolic and not one where one would expect to see such a costumed figure. Is his nudity and costume a defiance of convention? Where did he leave his clothes? This is not a piece with answers. This is meant to be a piece that provokes questions. However, in my role as just one more viewer, for me, it is ultimately about freedom. This painting takes me in new directions as an artist, somewhere between Mantegna and Dali. I have more to explore in this realm. However, in the piece, there are certain trademark features of my work – the streaky sky, the long hair, the highly textured boulder. Also, I borrowed an idea from my first non-self portrait after my marriage, “The Cigarette” in which I use sparse clothing to make the figure more naked than a true nude would be. The Cigarette was painted six years before the present piece. Much has happened artistically in the mean time. But some ideas are eternal."
Formal Attire
"16” x 20” Acrylic on Canvas A painting far longer in the planning than in the execution, a comic piece, and yet an intended reference to Rembrandt."
Freedom
A celebration of male assertion of the right of beauty, depicted on the canvas in neo-impressionist technique is a man of indistinct and therefore universal ethnicity with his face turned upward, his hair flowing behind him, decorated with metal ornament. He basks in the joy of his self-proclaimed liberation.
Grand Odalisque Après Ingres
"36"" x 24"" Acrylic on Canvas This work is a conscious parody of the Grande Odalisque painted by Ingres in 1704. In the other work, one sees a woman reclining on a chaise longue, her head on the right, her hips and breasts voluptuously displayed, about her various oriental items. The word ""Odalisque"" means harem dweller. And so, the gentleman in this painting is a ""kept man"" as it were. In certain details, the painting is a self-portrait, most importantly with the background of books."
Grasping Perfection And Emptiness
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas Occupying a relatively small portion of an otherwise blank varnished canvas, one sees from the back a male nude in a slightly open fetal position clasping a flower. His obvious tan line and muscularity speak of a life endlessly pursuing perfection in physical beauty, echoed in the flower in his grasp. Although he casts a shadow, the space he has constructed for himself is, in the final analysis, empty."
Guernica Again And Yet Again
"36"" x 24"" Acrylic on Canvas This work takes its title Picasso’s famous black and white piece. I have almost none of Picasso’s elements, except for the distended bodies. It is a personal reaction on my part to the Second War in Iraq."
Hope-Blood-Turandot
I Had A Vision Of The Abyss
"24” x 18” Acrylic on Canvas A surrealistic mélange of images, juxtapositions, ambiguities, and religious symbols, it is a dream, the meaning of which can only be found in dreams."
In His Dreams
"16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas The title of this work has a double meaning. Initially, it refers to the sleeping posture of the subject. Indeed the model fell asleep while posing for this piece. It also refers to the observation by one of my other models who is acquainted with this model that I exaggerated one of this model's features to a degree that this model would wish were true."
Intimacy: Passion And Aftermath
" Two panels framed together, each 16"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas . Painters generally refer to paintings as being self-portraits. I prefer to think of these as autobiographical. I am the figure on the left of each of the two panels. In each panel, the background reflects the mood of the character on the left and is drawn from the same color family as his depiction. 'Nuff said."
In Unity Is Hope
"24"" x 20"" Acrylic on Canvas In this work, the intertwined bodies (modeled after myself and my partner) represent the unity of souls achieved by lovers. The rising sun represents hope."
Invitation To Dance
Two figures explode on to the dance floor of an old fashioned ballroom in joyous celebration of movement and life.
Les Messieurs D'Afton
36” x 48” Acrylic on Canvas (painting): By commission for a gay couple who bought a house in Afton, New York, where, they house not only themselves, but in the barn in back, their horses, we see a parody of the 1907 Picasso “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”. Picasso had five whores. Three of the whores have been transformed into two horses. The piece is full of many other details used to recall and transform the Picasso.
Male Curves #1
Due to a few weeks’ hiatus in my painting caused by some major upheavals in my life, my paint got kind of thick. For certain techniques, this can prove a major advantage – notably in the creation of highly textured palette knife work. By now, the viewer of these pages has no doubt concluded that I am fascinated, if not obsessed, with the male form, particularly the curves of the male form. When my commission for Les Messieurs d’Afton necessitated my growing comfortable with color work using a restricted palette, I began to appreciate the power such restriction accords. So, I decided to do a series which spoke to my favorite subject, the male form, took advantage of my thick paint, and also took advantage of some particularly nicely dimensioned models I happened upon. These paintings are meant to be in dialogue with each other, no one of them being the complete statement, but each being a complete work in its own right. Balzac did something similar when he christened his entire output of novels as La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy). So, all of these pieces are celebrations in their own right of male curves, but bear simple numerical titles like the Bachianas Brasilieras of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Male Curves #2
Due to a few weeks’ hiatus in my painting caused by some major upheavals in my life, my paint got kind of thick. For certain techniques, this can prove a major advantage – notably in the creation of highly textured palette knife work. By now, the viewer of these pages has no doubt concluded that I am fascinated, if not obsessed, with the male form, particularly the curves of the male form. When my commission for Les Messieurs d’Afton necessitated my growing comfortable with color work using a restricted palette, I began to appreciate the power such restriction accords. So, I decided to do a series which spoke to my favorite subject, the male form, took advantage of my thick paint, and also took advantage of some particularly nicely dimensioned models I happened upon. These paintings are meant to be in dialogue with each other, no one of them being the complete statement, but each being a complete work in its own right. Balzac did something similar when he christened his entire output of novels as La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy). So, all of these pieces are celebrations in their own right of male curves, but bear simple numerical titles like the Bachianas Brasilieras of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Mona Guy
Sadie
New Age, The
"24"" x 18"" Acrylic on Canvas My model posed for me for this painting over a video link. Actually, he and I have never met. But, once I was satisfied with his pose, he used the conferencing software to send me a still of it. This painting is rather a departure from that pose. None of the background details exist in the space where he was posing. This painting sets up a conflict between the classical and the modern. The figure in the painting has symbolically thrown away the trappings of the classical age -- his clothing, his bedding rumpled at the base of the bed, the pillows tossed on the floor, and the fire place. Instead, he kneels as a votary to the electronic age, represented by the laptop computer over which he is hunched. Indeed, he is utterly engrossed in that computer. All other space and time have disappeared for him. Above his head is a certificate he has received. It means nothing to him. The only thing that counts is what is displayed on that small screen. His pose is primal, almost apelike, as if he has regressed in evolution in front of the awesome power of this machine."
Hope-Blood-Turandot
Weltschmerz
313
16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas. This is purely abstract piece. I see flowers in it. You can see what you wish. I finished painting it at 3:13 a.m..
Tree
