Galaxy artist’s work shines

Galaxy Towers resident Paul Friedman is modest when it comes to his accomplishments, but his art speaks volumes about his storied life.
“My career, in particular, has been uneventful,” said the Guttenberg resident last week while sitting in his eclectic apartment overlooking the Hudson River and the communities to the west. Most of the art hanging on the walls has won awards in the Hudson County Senior Art Contest or the New Jersey Senior Art Contest.
This year, his work won first place on the county level and second place for statewide paintings. He was first notified of the contests years ago by former Guttenberg Mayor Peter LaVilla, but was unsure if his submissions would be accepted at first, since his art focuses on nudes.

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“I made up my mind at a very young age that I was not going to be a commercial artist.” – Paul Friedman
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Then, he won second place on the county level, or so he thought. He said that someone from the mayor’s office called him afterward and told him that he had really won first place, but they were afraid to send his work to the state level because they felt they couldn’t send a “nude.”
“This went on for a few years,” said Friedman, who explained that since then, he has won first place on the county level six times, as well as a first place and honorable mention on the state level, in addition to this year’s second place win.

A student of anatomy

Friedman, originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., said that he first took to depicting anatomy as a young child.
“I made up my mind at a very young age that I was not going to be a commercial artist,” he said. “I saw the troubles that my father went through and I was going to devote myself to anatomy. I’m talking 3 years old.”
He said that he once was offered to illustrate medical books, but found the task to be too artistically restrictive.
It was always about learning more anatomy for Friedman, who said he studied at Pratt Institute, the Art Students League of New York, and Columbia University.
Friedman also taught art at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, as well as at an adult education center, which he helped start. He also brought his teachings to Columbia University.
He said that in his early days, he exhibited his work a “good deal.”
He has even held six or seven art appreciation lectures at the Galaxy since moving in.

Connections through art

Through the art contests, Friedman and his wife Florence said that they have become friendly with other people throughout the county, but they think that more seniors should learn about the contests and get involved.
Friedman met Florence when he was an executive vice president of a “very, very big corporation” that moved items all over the world. He principally oversaw artwork that would be moved globally and went on to represent places like Sotheby’s Art Auction House and museums.
Around this time 30 years ago, his first wife had died, and although he had no interest in meeting anyone new at the time, a friend of his gave him Florence’s number. That blind date eventually led to marriage and moving to Guttenberg.

Story behind work

When the couple moved to the Galaxy, they purchased a two-bedroom unit and used the master bedroom as Friedman’s studio.
One painting in the studio is in the style of Normal Rockwell and depicts Friedman’s nephew.
“One of my most reverent friends was Norman Rockwell, so I did this painting on a Rockwell style, as though it was a cover of the Saturday Evening Post,” said Friedman of the work.
While he enjoys working with all sorts of mediums, Friedman said that he often uses pastels, since many of his good friends in the art world worked with them. He also loves oil and water color paint.
Sometimes commissions in the past didn’t work out, but that wasn’t all bad. Once he was commissioned to create a glass-casted clay sculpture of Don Quixote, but when the person learned that encasing it in glass would be pricey, they allowed Friedman to keep the deposit and the sculpture. Yet after he approached a sculpture company about casting it in bronze, that company liked it so much it used it in an ad and it ran in a magazine for a year.
Ideas from paintings often stem from his knowledge and love of anatomy, as well as his interests in mythology, stories, and opera, along with whatever ideas form in his head.
“When I get an idea, my first attempt is my best model,” said Friedman, speaking of his wife Florence and pointing to a pastel piece.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.