Born in New York City I was raised in a family of artists and musicians. Growing up I spent many hours in my
mother’s sun-drenched art studio observing her artistic process. She trained me in oil painting, pastels,
charcoals, mixing colors and stretching canvas. I was often pressed into service setting up art shows with
her and her artist friends in and around New York City. These influences remain at my core and in my art.
I incorporate a wide range of textures and colors. I use techniques from painting in oil, drawing pastel and
charcoal sketching along with the flexibility of digital art, and as such my work can best be described as
“Digital Painting”.
I am drawn toward consonance with my artwork so usually when it looks right, I feel right. Fluidity and
motion are instilled into my consciousness and naturally expressed in my work, most likely developed from
my experience in athletics, aviation, and music. I like dramatic lighting and deep textures and I love to
include interesting protagonists who mostly emerge from people I’ve known throughout my life.
Fluidity and Motion: these are fundamental to my process. I utilize many elements and techniques ranging
from oil painting to photography I am always compelled to instill dynamism and motion with bold brush
strokes and textures, vivid colors, and expressive lighting.
I like to project a sense of balancing on the precipice. I hope viewers find their own interpretations.
I currently live and work in Albania and in Trieste, Italy. Both are places I have found to offer simple
lifestyles and a peaceful, beautiful culture. Philosophically I adapt my expectations so that life will deliver a
positive experience and will foster enjoyment in the artistic process.
Exhibition history: 2023:
- Una Finestra ‘Sul’ Arte Contemporanea Internazionale
- PAKS Gallery Castle Heidelreichstein, Austria
- PAKS Gallery, Vienna
- Vernissage Milan, A Window on Contemporary Art
- Zanon Gallery, Rome, ‘Lo Stato dell’ Arte’
2022 - Recording Artist Michael Castaldo Drops “Riu” Album Art by Keith Edwards
- MEGA Art Venezia, Sturio D’ Arte Larkina Loreta
- Neo Art Gallery, International Art Fair of Istanbul
- Van Der Plas Gallery, New York “Flight of the Butterfly”
- Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, Group Exhibition
“1776 the Musical”
Music & Lyrics by Sherman Edwards Book by Peter Stone
Based on Original Concept by Sherman Edwards
The Story:
1776 is a Broadway musical written many years ago by my father Sherman Edwards about the American
“Founding Fathers” and their passage of the American Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.
It opened for the first time on Broadway in 1969 when I was twelve years old, after a lengthy writing
process that mostly happened on the piano in the living room where I grew up. The show edged out “Hair”
that year for the Tony Award’s “Best Musical”.
In 1981 I was in my early twenties working for Cessna Aviation outside Boston as an airplane pilot. News of
my dad’s passing reached me then. He had become critically ill only a few years after the 1776 opening and
passed at sixty-one years. Thus began my education in music publishing and musical theater; due to his
illness he had neglected the business end of the music business, and all his music copyrights were in danger
of reverting to public domain.
Over the years I managed this “family business” for my mother who depended on it for her income.
Originally, “1776” had mandatory casting guidelines of 28 white males and 2 white females. About ten
years ago I introduced a different licensing option to allow women and minorities to be cast. I worked for
years to promote this, and in 2022 the “open casting” version finally made it to Broadway. On opening
night on Broadway the cast took their bows to a standing ovation, and I was surprised to be asked onstage
by Director Diane Paulus to be recognized for my contribution to the production.
