Early Drawing & Painting 
I was aways the kid drawing, drawing, drawing. At the age of about 13, my father, who was a friend to just about everyone on earth, started taking me weekly to one of his friend’s home for drawing & painting lessons.

Mr. Carp was my teacher, and as far as I know, he was never paid to teach me. He was a talented oil painter who took me under his wing just for the joy of working together. 

Before we met, Mr. Carp had been a commercial artist. He contracted multiple sclerosis and had to quit working due to his disability. He was wheelchair bound and had difficulty getting around.

Mr. Carp reviewed my sketch book and gave me critiques and advice on my drawing techniques. We worked together, off and on, for a couple years. My first attempt at oil painting was with Mr. Carp. I can’t thank him (and his wife) enough for the inspiration and nurturing they provided. During our time together, I worked on my first 3 oil paintings.

Art Institute of Pittsburgh
I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh from 1975 – 1977. I graduated at the top of my class in “Visual Communications.” Back then, visual communications meant graphic design, long before computers. Everything was done by hand.

Career
My first job was with American Greetings, creating technical artwork for greeting cards. I did a small amount of painting there, not much.

After a couple years at American Greetings, I moved back to Pittsburgh to become an instructor at the Art Institute. At the same time, I was freelancing for a now-defunct company called Papercraft. Teaching didn’t satisfy me so I left to take a job as Art Director at Papercraft. 

I spent a few years at Papercraft before becoming the Art Director at General Nutrition Corp (GNC). I was 29 years old at the time. 

GNC lasted a couple years before the company sold my division and I was out of a job.

I started my own business, Direct Axis, which after 35 years, is still active. Direct Axis is a 3-person graphic design and web design firm.

Painting
Painting was only a small part of my early life and career. My jobs generally consisted of creating commercial art and I didn’t do any painting in my free time. Life was busy, I had 2 children and plenty of other things to do. Until very recently, I had only painted 2 portraits. My self portrait, painted at age 20, is my Instagram profile picture. 

In late 2019, after 40 years, I decided to start painting again. For a year, I painted many different subjects in gouache: landscapes, people, fantasy, my favorite indie rock stars.

I switched to acrylic medium and tried a couple portraits in late 2020.  I fell back in love with painting. After about 55 “practice” portraits I decided to start taking commissions.

Figurative Work
In late 2023, I decided use my experience with portraits to embark on a new direction – to concentrate on figurative painting. 

I hope you enjoy my work. If you’re interested in engaging me, contact me. I’ll be excited to talk over your ideas.

Why am I “Faj?”
Years ago, my daughter said “You are my Fajjah” (father). Fajjah quickly turned into Faj and now my entire family calls me Faj.