I turned to art professionally after zig-zagging through a few different disciplines. I received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering before receiving a PhD from the University of Massachusetts in political science. I have written on the political-economy of the United States, especially when I taught at several colleges and universities. (See Toward An American Revolution, South End, 1988 and There Comes A Time, Praeger, 1986) But I left academia  in 1989 to make a living as an painter, an activity I have studied formally and  practiced Most of my life. While I lived in San Francisco )1989-2004), I organized outdoor exhibition groups so that artists could gain control of the distribution of their work (and thus their aesthetic and income) while developing and independent and direct relation to the public and their audience. Today, I write on painting, not so much as in the 'how to' genre but more broadly as an expressive activity that enables us to realize our specific abilities, gifts and powers. Jerry's primary teacher was William Schultz who had studied with Robert Brackman and others whose teachers can be directly linked to the philosophy and practices of Robert Henri, John Singer Sargent,Claude Monet -  and the political art philosphies of artists of the Paris Commune as well as turn-of-the-century activist as Emma Goldman. I also  studied briefly with Wolf Kahn, once a student of Hans Hoffman, whose work reflects both traditional and contemporary influences, a virtue I much admires. In 2004, I  moved to Lake Como in Italy with my wife Conchitina Miguel. We organize painting workshops.  If you are interested in this sort of thing, check out my videos on YouTube.