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TWPT: How long have you been an artist? Was
this something you always knew you wanted to be?
HS: I've been an artist ever since my
earliest childhood, if "making art" makes you an artist. My
mother is an artist and she made sure that I was painting and drawing
before I could even write. I still owe most of my art training and
talent to my mother.
But I didn't always want to be an artist,
art was something I did on the side. For much of my youth I wanted to
be a writer, and then I went to graduate school intending to be an
academic (in Greek and Latin studies). But this didn't work out, and
I returned to art as a career. I still do scholarship and scholarly writing.
TWPT: Could you talk a little, for those who
are not familiar with you and your work, about your background in the
arts field?
HS: My background is first of all in the
"fine arts" that is, the kind of art that goes into museums
and galleries. I grew up in the Boston area, and was always visiting
the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. My family and I also lived in Europe
during my youth so I was able to visit, with them, the great art
museums of Western Europe. Since my mother is an artist, she
encouraged me to do art as much as I could, and I took lessons at the
Boston Museum School (my mother's alma mater) when I was a teenager.
Later, I took some courses at Boston University Art School. Still
later, I took courses in architectural drawing at Harvard Graduate
School of Design. But I do not have a large amount of formal
training. Much of my training is from my mother, or "on-the-job."
I have also always been interested in
fantasy and science fiction art, which is not considered
"fine" art, but "commercial" art, and I've done a
whole lot of that during my career. I also do pictures of houses and
other buildings for real estate ads; I had a job doing that for 2
years in 1988-90.
TWPT: The work that you do is not the
computer generated or enhanced type of work we have seen on TWPT up
to now. Could you describe the mediums you use, and if any one of
them may be preferred by you over the others, and why?
HS: I work in lots of different media. My
favorite medium is acrylic, a water-based polymer paint that is
durable, brilliant, dries fast, is mostly non-toxic, and it
reproduces well. I also use ink and watercolor, and I do a lot of
work in colored pencils. My portraits are done in colored pencil. The
pictures on my Web site are mostly done in acrylic, with only one
watercolor, the "Alchemical Madonna." I also do computer
art, though not on a large scale. I prefer the programs which
simulate painting, such as "Painter Classic" and Corel
Photo-Paint. I recently acquired a drawing tablet which allows me to
simulate pen and brush strokes, and I'm having a lot of fun with this
new set of tools. I am not ready to show any of my computer artwork,
though; I'm still learning.
TWPT: There is alot of Spiritual Resonance
in your work. Is this an influence of your Spiritual Path? Could you
give us a small idea of the Path that you follow?
HS: I am a Roman Catholic Christian of
Jewish origin. After a long search, I converted to Catholicism in
1979, 20 years ago. I am still a practicing Catholic. My interest in
Catholic Christianity was started when I lived in Rome, Italy during
my late teen years, and saw the beauty of Catholic church
architecture, art, and ceremonies. When I returned to the USA I found
that I was also attracted by the religion. It is controversial to be
a Catholic, given the bad reputation of this church, but I try to
follow the good things about Christianity, even though I am aware of
its historical shortcomings.
Catholicism isn't the only religious
influence on me, by far. I am a longtime student of Western
Esotericism, which can include things like Gnosticism, Kabbalah,
Magick, Alchemy, and other related disciplines. I also honor and
study my Jewish heritage. And I have many Pagan friends who are eager
to share their traditions with me.
And most of all, my association with
Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Persia, has inspired me and
given me many creative impulses over the years. You can find all
these spiritual influences in my art, if you look. It sounds like a
very eclectic mix, but I do consider myself above all a Christian.
TWPT: Are there any other topics or
inspirations that have an influence on your art? Do you have a
preferred topic?
HS: I love science fiction and fantasy. I
have done fantasy and SF art professionally for 20 years. So there is
always going to be a kind of "futuristic" or
"otherworldly" quality to my art. I also love architecture
and buildings of every kind. Many of my commissions involve
architecture, because clients love the way I do buildings, and not
too many other fantasy artists do architecture. I also do a lot of
portraits, and faces, poses, and costumes are always a treat for me
to draw or paint.
TWPT: How much of an influence has the Web
had on your work? Have you found it a useful tool for making contacts
or promoting your work?
HS: I have had a Web site now for about 3
years. I find that it is very useful, not only as a means of showing
prospective clients my work, but as a place to sell art. I have sold
prints to people as far away as Switzerland, because they saw my work
on the Web! Just recently I am enjoying a new proliferation of Web
sites with my work on them - not just my site, but numerous places
with pieces of my art which are not on my own site, which link to
mine. This is great publicity for me, since the more places I have
art, the more the search engines will find. I get a steady amount of
orders for prints through the Web and through e-mail.
TWPT: Do you promote your work only on the
web, or do you do shows or galleries?
HS: I show my work at about 5 or 6 science
fiction or pagan conventions a year. I buy space in the artshow and
the print shop. I prepare about 8 to 12 small original pieces for
sale, and about 30 prints, for the average show. These conventions
can be quite lucrative, especially in print sales. I have never been
successful in getting my work into a gallery because galleries regard
it as "commercial" and also because I don't have enough
work to fill a conventional art gallery, which likes to feature
larger sets of work by one person rather than just one painting at a time.
Another way I promote my work is through
simple word of mouth - I speak to prospective private clients and
hear from them what they would like to commission. And then if they
like the work I do for them and their friends see it, these friends
then commission me to do work.
TWPT: I noticed you have done graphics for
some of the Conventions and Conferences? I am sure the list is
extensive, but it may help some of our readers identify you and your
work. Could you tell us which conferences you have done the logos for?
HS: I've done so many! I have a little
saying about it: "Been there, done that, DESIGNED the
T-shirt!" I've done 6 shirt/program designs for "Sacred
Space" (1994 through 1999), one design for
"Ecumenicon"(1997), one shirt design for Darkover Grand
Council (1984) and numerous program designs for Darkover (1982-1988),
two for Gaylaxicon (1991,1992). I've also done advertising designs
and logos for promotional T-shirts for the Baltimore World Science
Fiction Convention ("Bucconeer," 1998) and the upcoming
Philadelphia World Science Fiction Convention, ("Millennium
Philcon", 2001). There are more but I can't think of them just now.
TWPT: You also attend many of the
Conferences locally and show your work. > Do you like meeting and
talking to the various people who admire your work?
HS: I love meeting and talking with people
who admire my work. I usually have a great time going to these
conferences. The conferences energize me because not only do I get to
talk to fans, clients, prospective clients, and friends, but I also
get to see other artists' work and talk with the artists themselves.
I always like to help up-and-coming amateur artists out and often
they bring me their portfolios to comment on, at these conventions.
TWPT: Do you have any upcoming shows you
would like to mention? Are there any projects you are involved with
that you would like to discuss?
HS: The major project I am doing right now
is the fourth in my "Imaginal Cities" series. It is called
CITY OF AMBER and is based on a fantasy series by the author Roger
Zelazny. This picture should be done by late fall and I plan to debut
it at Philcon, in Philadelphia, November 12-14. Two weeks later I
will show it at DarkoverCon in Timonium, north of Baltimore, Nov.
26-28. I also plan to be at Gaylaxicon in the Washington DC area,
October 8-10. But I won't have CITY OF AMBER because it won't be done
by then.
I am also working on two long-term projects,
one of them a series of seven Zoroastrian Angels, each one in a
different color of the rainbow, with two companion pieces to make a
series of nine. This is going very slowly since these are not
commissioned works and thus have to be fitted in when I have the time.
My other long-term project is a "graphic
novel" that is, fancy comic-book, about a wizard who works with
a group of geologists during a volcanic eruption. I have always
wanted to work in the comic book medium, combining words and
pictures. But like the Zoroastrian Angels, this will take quite a
while to finish since it is not commissioned work, it's done just for
me, and does not have precedence over paid work.
TWPT: And thank you, Ms. Shapero, for sharing your
art, your insights and time with us. We enjoyed talking with you, and
we love your work. And we look forward to revisiting you in the
future. Again, our thanks. |
