Welcome listener and viewer to my twofold website, with its samples of my music and my visual art. Here is where I officially turn myself inside out!
Let me explain. Before my 2018 retirement, you knew me as “Dr. P”, an academic dermatologist and trained internist at the University of Wisconsin. You heard Dr. P practicing his saxophone over lunchtime, saw him performing at some department parties, and taking a few “creative” photos. But you thought Dr. P, though artsy, was deeply dedicated to diagnosing and treating skin disease and skin cancer, plus teaching young doctors to have this same mission. You might ask; “Why did Dr. P suddenly stop all doctoring”?
Well, I guess the artist that was inside wanted to be outside. Medicine and science are now inside as hobbies, and also inform my artwork.
Music:
I’ve always enjoyed melody and composing little jingles to amuse myself during or on my way to or from work. That evolved into recording my voice, transcribing my favorite melodies into musical notation, then developing a small percentage of them further with chords, counterpoint, and lyrics. By the way, the lyrics reflect my inner “Doctor” in that they tend to be explanations of life and the world.
All songs are designed to be interesting harmonic vehicles for improvisation. In the jazz tradition, all songs are “in progress“. The plan is to share my best scores on this website. They are an invitation for (re)invention.
I am sharing performances as well. My compositions were first recorded by my saxophone teacher, Anders Svanoe. He and his Latin quintet made the album “To Be Young” in 2020. My own band, “dpartures” recorded newer work in “Head in the Clouds,” released October 14, 2022.
Photography:
My visual art has followed a parallel course to my music. It similarly served as an outlet from and a counterweight to my professional life. I had dabbled in cartooning through college and medical training but I’ve turned largely to photography in the last couple of decades. Credit my dog Sparky and his need for nature walks for exposing me to much of my subject matter. We humans and even our artifacts are part of nature, and are among my obsessions.
Like many artists, what I’m feeling and trying to say tends to occur to me after, rather than before, my work. An example: in the past three years, I’ve been obsessed with birds taking off and flying. I suppose I did not need to have medical training to later realize that bird flight has been a vicarious enjoyment of freedom and beauty during this constricted COVID era. Here’s hoping the viewer has a similar enjoyment.
I was happy to receive honorable mention in a couple of international photography competitions in 2023!
International Photography Awards - Honorable Mention in Nature - Wildlife.
ND Awards - Honorable Mention in Nature - Wildlife.