After teaching art full-time for 33 years I’ve retired and formed my own art and entertainment business, EssexArt ABC, LLC. The “ABC” refers to me being an Artist, Bagpiper and Caricaturist. This is my life. This is my passion. This is my job… what I do for a living… and I love it more than words can tell. It is my way of exploring creative expression and, a majority of the time, being of service to others.

My fine art is about journey and place. This came about as a result of my Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship. That project involved journeying to a place. That experience taught that the journey is the window through which the place is best viewed. As such, my works are a kind of personal “journal” that I love to share. Except for the commissions I accept, the fine art part of what I do is done for me.

The caricaturing I do is all about fun. Whether I am doing caricatures at corporate, private or collegiate special events, my caricatures are strictly to add to the fun experience of the attendees of those events. The caricatures done at special events also give the attendees a very personal souvenir of the event. Consequently, the attendees leave with a good feeling about the event as well as a lasting frameable memento of the occasion. Since I am available for doing these special event caricatures at any time, day or night, I have had the opportunity to meet a very wide range of fun individuals be they early risers, work-day people, night owls or late night partiers.

My commissioned full-color caricatures are often used as a light-hearted, fun oriented commemoration of an achievement of the subject… or simply as a gift to an appreciated individual. As in my special event caricaturing, good humor is stressed. No “pot-shots”. The caricaturing I do is done in service to others.

Something new via EssexArt ABC, LLC is Pub & Paint, a time to relax with old friends and new for painting instruction, libation and good fun in the comfortable setting of a neighborhood pub. Pub & Paint is held the second Tuesday of each month at the Elbow Room Pub, 605 N Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN, and at various other locations. Seating is limited so advance reservations must be made. Contact me for more information.

I’m also a bagpiper and am available for special events, weddings, memorials, wakes, funerals and of course St. Patrick’s Day. The bagpiping I do is done in service to others and is always done in the decorum or “feel” of the event.