SAMPLE OF GREG'S ART - AND THE STORY BEHIND IT
After college, Greg Forbes Siegman walked away from plans for law school, film school and/or corporate America to first spend one year substitute teaching in the public school system(One year eventually turned into eight). During that first year, he was trying to convince the students they could do anything they put their mind to.
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To help illustrate the point to them, he said he would teach himself to draw. (He'd always loved the field, but he had never done it very well). He began drawing portraits of the contemporary, historical and cinematic figures who helped inspire his interests in fields such as philanthropy, service, business, music, law, civil rights and athletics. At first, the drawings were not very good, but he stuck with it (partly so he could prove his point to the students, and partly because he loved art and wanted to be able to do it well). Here (to the left) is one of his drawings soon after they very slowly began to improve a little.
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Greg was still no Picasso, but the progress was enough to inspire him to keep trying. Over time, the progress continued.
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A self-taught artist, Greg does not follow any textbook method of drawing. He does not use any special supplies, either -- just #2 pencils, an eraser, ruler and plain white paper.
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When he draws a portrait, he starts with dark space, moves to light space and draws eyes last (as seen in this work-in-progress shown here).
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A decade later, the result is a collection named My Sleepless Nights.
It features portraits of the cinematic, contemporary and historical figures who have inspired people to think, act, give, serve and/or lead. A sample of others depicted in the collection include the likes of Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Benazir Bhutto, Michael J. Fox, Madeline Albright, Morgan Freeman, John McCain, Christy Turlington, Simon Wiesenthal, Muhammad Ali, John Kennedy, Shel Silverstein, Andre Agassi, and Joann Robinson
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It should be noted some of the people and film characters Greg has drawn are among his favorite figures in history - such as Nelson Mandela (left). But his decision to draw someone does not necessarily mean he agrees with or supports that person, their words or their actions. It simply means he believes this person or film character has impacted lives in some notable way.
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My Sleepless Nights has now been on display in various places around North America -- including events in California, New York, Chicago, Canada and Africa.
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Greg regularly chooses the frames for his portraits (like the one seen here on far left) at Acrylic & Framing Solutions Inc. (the framing experts located at 437 N. Paulina - Chicago)
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With each portrait, Greg's personal thoughts about the person he has drawn are also on display. To read more about that, click here on Artist Journal
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The name of the exhibit, My Sleepless Nights, refers to the answer Greg gives to the question he is asked most often about his drawings -- given his schedule, when did he find the time to draw?
To inquire about exhibiting My Sleepless Nights in your town, or at an event to raise funds for your organization, email Events@GregForbes.com
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Over time, Greg began exploring two other forms of art. In addition to his efforts to create art with images, he began to create art out of objects and words. The former led to the creation of a collection called The Art of Nothing. The latter led to the creation of a massive collage of Rejection Art.
For more on these two additioanl collections of art, please see "About the Art"
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Greg's civic experiences are now the basis of a book, The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson . Throughout the book, there is a running metaphor between Greg's struggle to draw well and his struggles in life (and the satisfaction that comes from the 'journey' in both pursuits). In the process, the book highlights the field of art, some of its different forms (such as drawing portraits, outsider art and graphic design) and the many ways in which the lessons of art apply to life. For more on The First Thirty, see www.TheFirstThirty.com
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