PROJECTS

ARTWORK

________________________________________________________________

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to draw and paint. It came easy for me, and I was always pretty good at it, even without formal training. As any artist, writer or other creative type will tell you, there really is nothing quite like starting with a blank slate, then putting something of yourself onto the slate. When you're finished, you've filled up the "blankness". Something that was invisible becomes visible. Whether it's any "good" or not is (as they say) in the eye of the beholder. Below are a couple of examples of my computer-created artwork, using an old paint program called PC Paintbrush. Having worked with all the biggies (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Painter, etc.) to one extent or another, I still love my little PC Paintbrush, and I find it incredibly easy to work with.

I think my artwork is rather simplistic, because I don't feel that I'm trying to convey anything as much as express something. These works represent where I'm at at that moment - that mood - and there is no deliberate or conscious will to do a specific piece of art. They are completely spontaneous, which is precisely the thing that keeps me painting!

screenplays and teleplays

________________________________________________________________

Many years ago, someone once told me that writing for the movies was the next best thing to being God, and I thought that sounded like a pretty good idea. Hell, there had to be some world out there that I could have complete control over! My greatest dream in life has always been to direct a film. Short of that, writing a screenplay seemed like something I could achieve. Most of what I've learned about writing a screenplay was learned by reading about it. I somehow never realized what Big Business it is for "How-to-Write-a-Screenplay" writers and publishers. There are so many books available about the subject, and it seems like every few months there's a new one.

So, I did alot of reading. I'm sure my lack of formal training shows. But I love movies and find a peculiar sense of enjoyment from putting words into people's mouths. My real love is for science fiction, but now and then I get some other ideas.

SCREENPLAYS

TIMESTREAM - a tragic sci-fi love story. A team of scientists conducting experiments in time travel, accidentally wind up in the future. They learn more than any fortune teller could ever tell them, but the real problem begins when they return home. I understand that Hollywood has been hit with a wave of time travel scripts lately, so the chances of selling this one are even more unlikely than sell anything at all to them.

LOU SILVER: PRIVATE EYE - a comedy about the first case of an inept bartender-turned-private eye and his bumbling partner, as they attempt to track down a missing celebrity. I've been doing a rewrite on this one, cos after reading it again for the first time in a year, guess what? It wasn't funny! Damn!

THINNER THAN BLOOD - a suspenseful drama about a cop who's just been assigned to the Secret Service while the President visits his state. Seems the cop has this brother who "see" the future, and what he "sees" is an assassination. I got the idea for this one after talking to my own brother, who happens to be a cop. However, I will never admit to having any powers of clairvoyance.