People

Dorsey on Stairs in Red Dress #1

First painting of Dorsey on a staircase in our first home in Tarrytown, NY. I loved the rounding staircase and the light from a single lamp.
Oil on canvas, 1988
42" x 60"

Four stages of "Dorsey on Stairs…"

Detail of "Dorsey on Stairs…"

Dorsey on Stairs in Red Dress #2

Second painting of Dorsey on a staircase 20+ years later in East Lansing, Michigan.
Oil on Canvas, 2013
24" x 36”

Back of Head, Yellow Background

This painting is based on drawings I made of people sitting in front of me on my commuter train. You can see the original drawings under the Drawings/People tab and also a linocut print version under the Printmaking tab.
Oil on canvas, 1998
24" x 36”

Back of Head, Red Background

"Chasing the Pack"

This painting is based on a drawing I made for the cover of a New York Daily News special insert on an upcoming bike race. You can see it under the Drawings/People tab.
Oil on canvas, 2018
60 in. X 60 in.

Detail of "Chasing the Pack."

Hi Girls!

I had the idea for this painting as I was walking down a city sidewalk. As I passed the opening to an alley I glanced down it. At the end was a tall brick wall and in that instant three girls burst into the sky on a swings behind it. It was over in a fraction of a second. I was painting this when Dorsey and I were first dating. Whenever she came over to my place, she'd say, "Hi Girls!" The name stuck.
Oil on canvas, 1987
48" x 60”

Skinny Dip

Oil on canvas, 2008
20” x 30"

Boat Nap

I used the image of the boy in a later painting, "State Park," which depicts boys splashing around in a lake. It follows this painting.
Oil on canvas, 1984
36" x 24"

State Park

These playful New York City boys were bussed from the city to a park in northern Westchester. Note that the image of the boy on the dock was reused from my earlier painting, "Lark on a Boat.”
Oil on canvas, 1991
48” x 60"

Sketch Transferred to Canvas

My pencil sketch in the bottom right was transferred to the large canvas using the grid system.

Sun Shower

Oil on canvas, 2024
8” x 10"

Rower

Oil on canvas, 1986
36” x 48”

Bull

Oil on canvas, 1995
18" x 20”

My wife, Dorsey’s, little brother. How could I not do a portrait of that smile?

"28" x 20", Oil on canvas

Dorsey on Striped Couch

As Dorsey lay there posing for this, she said her thoughts were anything but peaceful. She was stressing about the negative "what-if's” that can happen in life.
Oil on canvas, 1996
12” x 18"

Madonna and Child

Oil on canvas, 1988
48" x 60"

My wife, Dorsey, Posing for "Madonna and Child"

Cole standing next to himself as the child in the painting

Dorsey in Car

Oil on canvas, 1988
48” x 60".

This composition was inspired by a photo in the New York Times of a man in Guatemala who had been shot to death in his car by a gunman riding a motorcycle, his body spilling out of it. I loved the flow of form, so I asked my wife, Dorsey, to lie in our Honda. She is always a willing model.

"Dorsey in Car” hanging in my house