Glenn Goldstein

New York City, NY

“I define myself as a sugary pictorialist at times and have a realistic, not super-realistic style of doing atmospheric and nature studies. My motto? Do what you love doing and keep at it.”

Born and raised in the Bronx, Glenn Goldstein (he/him/his) creates art “to achieve peace and good feelings.” He equally enjoys the creation process and viewing the final results of his work. Glenn explains that creating art is an act of perseverance and patience, so finishing the majority of his pieces is an accomplishment of which Glenn is particularly proud. 

Primarily self-taught, Glenn began drawing around the age of 10 by making drawings based on TV guide covers and portraits of famous actors. In addition, he has operated his own darkroom from his apartment kitchen for over thirty years. He enjoys creating photographs in both color and black and white, and then uses them to create drawings using high grade pigmented colored pencils. Glenn creates drawings in a range of grayscales or colors, often on a dark background to allow the lines to emerge from the surface. Glenn prefers to use heavy paper or Bristol board for archival and resiliency purposes in creating his colored pencil drawings. 

Previously a staunch perfectionist, Glenn has grown more comfortable with making mistakes while creating art. Never one to give up, Glenn aims to improve his skills by frequently producing art. He cites his time spent at the art studio at The Healing Arts Initiative (HAI) in Long Island, NY as a formative time in developing his art. He is now part of an artist community at Fountain House Gallery in NYC, which provides an environment for artists living and working with mental illness to pursue and display their persona artistic visions and to challenge the stigma that surrounds mental health issues.

Glenn is enthusiastic about sharing his work with a larger audience through the ArtLifting platform. He is particularly appreciative of positive feedback from viewers of his work. “People’s positive comments lift my spirits and encourage me to keep doing my art.” He explains that this external validation and encouragement not only motivates him to improve the quality of his finished work but also greatly improves the quality of his life.