My Sleepless Nights

Called 'a tribute to diversity' by Art World News, the collection features Greg's portraits of historical, contemporary & cinematic figures who inspire us to think, to act, to give, to serve and to lead.

The complete collection includes portraits of people like Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman, Simon Wiesenthal, Benazir Bhutto, Jack Stanton (portrayed by John Travolta), John F. Kennedy, Morgan Freeman and Rocky Balboa among others. When he first started drawing portraits, he did so late at night (hence, the name of the collection).   For more on this collection, click on Story Behind the Art

The Art of Nothing

This collection features seemingly worthless items which Greg has turned into pieces of art.

In some circles, this is known as 'Brikolage' (a French word meaning using everything at hand). The objects Greg has used to create the pieces have included things like the stitches of a baseball, stitches from his feet after operations, tassels of a graduation cap, splinters of a rocking chair, milkshake straws, and an aluminum flip top. In some cases, the objects are also accompanied within the frame by a personal quote from Greg in which he reflects on what he believes to be the true meaning of the object and the story behind it. In most cases, the significance of the pieces are a result of those stories behind the objects – more than the objects themselves. For Greg, these pieces represent an overall philosophy which carries over to his life and philanthropic work – everything and everyone has value.

Rejection Art

Much of Greg's personal story – and the book based upon it -- revolve around rejection. Along the way, at the urging of his Grandma, Greg started framing some of the rejection letters he received. She said the notes, however hurtful in the short-term, should be treasured as signs of effort instead of resented as signs of failure. Over the years, as he worked to achieve goals - and in some cases, challenge the status quo and existing processes - he was rejected from so many things and set back so many times - that it was no longer feasible to frame every letter. Instead, he began collecting his favorite excerpts from rejection letters -- and eventually, favorite excerpts of other notes or conversations which generally reflected that same theme – setbacks, disappointments, and rejections. Before long, he turned what he had into art – a massive collage of sentences in different sizes, shapes, fonts and colors. The collage hopefully underscores the message that rejection is okay, something to treasure instead of be ashamed of, and at times, in retrospect, even something to laugh at. The collage includes many framed pages.

As a disclaimer, please note this collage is and always will be, by definition, incomplete. The sentences only represent excerpts of notes or conversations. As a result, the full context is clearly missing. In some cases, the excerpts – in context – would leave a different impression than they otherwise might. But space within the collage simply does not allow for entire letters - let alone hundreds of them. Please also note the phrasing has been changed – either to respectfully disguise who said or wrote the remarks that inspired them, or to summarize the essence of a longer sentiment.