Gordon did not begin painting until into his seventies after
fifty years as a Computer Scientist. Because he was born colorblind, Gordon spent the early years of his life avoiding art
and all things that required an understanding of color. Yet, he was fascinated by many works of art and curious about those
who painted them.
In more recent years he sought opportunities to talk with artists and frequently
asked them whether a colorblind person could successfully create paintings. He always got the same answer: "no, that's not
possible – a colorblind person cannot be a painter." That is, until one day less than three years ago when he asked
this question of a friend who was himself an artist of normal color vision but one who was intrigued with monochromatic portraiture.
The next day, at the suggestion of his artist friend, Gordon bought pencils, paper and a book on drawing. He read the book
and started to draw using only pencil. Gordon, too, became fascinated with portraiture and eventually decided to also concentrate
in that area.
Shortly after starting to draw, he graduated to charcoal drawing.
Colorblind and unable to discriminate among real-world colors but determined to discover just what he could do with colors,
Gordon began to paint color portraits with pastels. This necessitated that he develop a style all his own, a style that did
not require normal color vision. Gordon started painting faces in unusual and interesting ways using unconventional colors;
he painted portraiture either in black and white or in vivid colors that reached beyond real life. Soon, he started practicing
with acrylic painting. He now paints mainly in acrylic but occasionally goes back to the earlier mediums.
His
portraits range among a variety of subjects including children, actors, celebrities, bicyclists, presidents and even classic
automobiles. He has created and exhibited numerous paintings in both black and white and in color. One of his specialties
is creating white paintings of people -- famous ones and not so famous ones -- on a black background. In this style he has
produced numerous portraits and has been awarded prizes in local art exhibits. During the month of February, Gordon will
be exhibiting nearly twenty portraits of U. S. Presidents at the Lake Wildwood Clubhouse.
