Stroke of genius: Artist regains health to continue work

Artist Alvin Rosser, who turned 87 last week, has a new exhibit at the ARTery Gallery in Milford, beginning last week, along with a new exhibit from Rosalind Hodgkins.

People at pivotal moments in their lives have lately found their way into his art work.

Intrigued with the “rituals and rhythms” of baseball pitchers, Rosser recreated a series of them in wire sculptures.

“Their windups are similar to modern dance and ballet,” he said.

He overlays the wire with papier mache and encaustic paints, which are made with beeswax and applied while melted.

“I paint with a heat projector in one hand,” Rosser explained. “The paint crystallizes and hardens. You can’t expose it to heat or it melts, but you can emboss it.”

Ancient Romans and Egyptians used encaustics for portraits, and their use has recently been revived, he said.

Rosser was also drawn to Charles Harden, an Idaho horse thief wearing a red bow tie and bib overalls in his 1870s mug shot. He became the subject of a painting in Rosser’s antique mug shots series. Rosser savors mug shot dishevelment.

“People are most vulnerable right after they’re caught,” he said. “Mug shots of celebrities are popular, but I looked for ordinary people with something unusual in their face, demeanor, and clothing.”

He also will bring some unframed watercolor paintings and a book of 40 of his nudes, selected by his daughter and captioned by him. The pieces come from sessions where a group of painters shared a nude model. The model would hold a series of action poses briefly, then relax into longer, easier to hold poses.

Rosser said he identifies his work as either “pre-stroke” or “post-stroke,” after a “terrific headache” two years ago was diagnosed as a stroke symptom.

The stroke affected his vision slightly, so he had to give up driving.

“So many stroke victims are without cars,” he said. “It’s like being in jail. Painting is what I look forward to. What keeps me going is anticipation of the next one. I like to think my work is better post-stroke.”