I began receiving recognition and winning awards for my art work in high school (Morristown, New Jersey), after which I attended a small liberal arts college in La Grange, Georgia (nineteen sixty-four) majoring in art. I exhibited and sold my work (mostly etchings), showed locally, most specifically at the well-known Piedmont Art Show in Atlanta.

After college my artistic focus turned to men’s casual footwear design and styling (for a number of years) where my patterns were manufactured and sold by large volume retailers (Thom Mccan and Flagg Brothers to name two).

A long period ensued where I pursued the field of horticulture and channeled my artistic abilities into landscape design and management for some of most beautiful estate properties in the country, one of them actually gracing the cover of “Better Homes and Gardens.” My fine art pursuits, at this time, were relegated to, mostly, “hobby” status, with an occasional commission (due to the continued demand, seemingly based on my unique style and approach).

After fifteen years of horticulture I felt “called” to study for a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology (J.F.K. University, Orinda, Ca.), after which I opened a private practice specializing in Men’s Sexual Addiction. I am currently nationally recognized as one of the top in my field and regularly appear on local, national, and international radio and T.V. shows (CompulsionSolutions.com). My current artistic work (of the last fourteen years) actually is inspired by and reflects some of my feelings, expressed as art work, that have come up for me during and after counseling sessions with sex addicts. The artwork, to this point, has been very personal and I wasn’t motivated (until recently) to show or sell prints of these many curious “extensions” of my work-related artistic projections. Interestingly in recent years, there has been an even higher demand than before for me to show and sell these pieces, especially since it became known where the inspiration of the work was sourced.

Since nineteen-ninety-four I have been working on a series of uniquely colorful and detailed stream-of-unconsciousness watercolors that appear to be inspired by my work as one of the foremost men’s sexual addiction counselors in the country. The subject matter and design of these curious pieces comes to me spontaneously (without conscious thought)…often coinciding with my office work seeing clients suffering from compulsive sexual behavior. When this occurs I sit in my studio and I allow my hand to create the forms (in pencil) that seem to be an extension of my unconscious psyche. These forms and shapes choose themselves.

After the penciled images seem “right,” I use the watercolors to tell the next part of my unconscious “story.” I trust an unknown deeper process to guide my hand. The first shapes and forms seem to dictate what is to come next. During this progression there is, strangely, no conscious artistic thought process. It feels as though a grateful unconscious force is passing through me and onto the watercolor paper….bringing with it a strange sense of “relief.”

After the watercolor process I “finish” each piece with detail work, including watercolor and fine black Rapidograph pens. Each piece generally takes eight to ten ours to complete…mostly done in one long sitting, with only short breaks. The interesting titles of each piece come to me within moments of completion…usually having something to do with my own reaction to the particular memories of my client work.

Images in this series are printed (usually 8” by 10” or larger), on William Turner 310 gsm paper from the Hahnemuhle paper mill in Dassel, Germany. This paper is white, age resistant 100% rag with a fine toothy surface. William Turner 310 is 100% acid free with a neutral pH that can stand the test of time over “several centuries.”

Finally, some say that if you look closely at certain pieces of my work you can see the artistic personal impact of the “stories” of sexual addiction in the forms, shapes, and colors. You decide.

George's Counseling Website: www.CompulsionSolutions.com