Greeny, 1975. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.
Not for Sale.

My good friend Greeny's looks and speech reminded me of Ernest Hemingway. He exposed his art students to great literature. In addition to Rembrandt and Hokusai, he brought Shakespeare and Tolstoy into his classes. Greeny was caring, understanding and compassionate and the students loved him. Not only was he a positive force in their lives, but for some who came from broken homes, he was practically a surrogate father. Even when he posed, he did so with passion making it easier for artists to capture that quality in him. Greeny was a down-to-earth guy who worked as a longshoreman before he became a teacher. When he posed for me he had the robust look of a longshoreman. He died in 2009. Hundreds of his students grieved at his passing. I lost my best friend.