Mendel goes from historic album covers to vivid watercolors – catskillmountainnews.com

PROLIFIC — Michael Mendel began painting daily in 2009 and has completed 403 paintings to date. He is currently working on a commission for Delaware and Ulster Railroad in Arkville. Photo by Eddie Donoghue.

Not many pick up an art form late in life with such skill, but then few have lived lives as interesting as Michael Mendel.

For the last 10 years, Mendel has been painting feverishly, having completed 403 watercolor paintings to date. A resident of both Fleischmanns and the Bronx, Mendel’s art features the people and scenes that make up both of his homes. Working from photographs, his work is often realistic, sharp and vivid and not like that of many other watercolorists.

Mendel was born in Berlin, Germany in 1934 and his parents escaped Hitler’s Nazi Regime in 1938. It wasn’t a smooth trip to the U.S., however, as his family was forced to live in Cuba for two years before they could legally enter the U.S.

It was in college when he a friend invited him to the art department that Mendel discovered his interest in art.

“I loved what I saw, the smell of the paint and so on. So, art was my career,” he said.

Another delay would occur though, as after graduating from the City College of New York with a BA in Art; Mendel was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Infantry.

Michael Mendel painting

Album design

When his duties with the Infantry were over, Mendel began a career as a graphic designer that would last nearly 40 years. Some of Mendel’s clients included Sony Music, Columbia Records, the New York Stock Exchange, the French Embassy and Capital Records, among many others. For more than 30 years, Mendel designed album covers for the who’s who of music including, Etta James, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Donovan, Gladys Knight and the New York Philharmonic. He is also responsible for the album designs for the soundtracks to films such as “The Godfather” and “Serpico.”

“I took a blank page and I did something to it and that created it and it went out into the public. That gave me a thrill,” he said.

Some of his most notable album designs include Donovan’s number one hit “Sunshine Superman” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Mendel designed these album covers well before computers were incorporated into the process, with the artist saying, “It took days to do what you can do in five minutes now.”

Little did he know it at the time, but Mendel’s album designs provided him with thousands of hours of practice at drawing and painting that would later inform his artwork. Today, Mendel works from the same artistic toolbox as he did when in his previous career.

“Everything that I used when I was designing albums, I use now. Compasses to make circles, I have templates that make ovals, I use ruling pens a lot to make straight lines,” he said.

After several personal hardships in the early 2000’s, Mendel picked up a set of watercolors he had lying around his studio and began to paint. Painting every day

By 2009, Mendel was painting every day and it didn’t take long for his work to be noticed. His paintings have been widely exhibited including at the Jewish Institute of Religion Museum, National Arts Club, Lyme Art Association, and at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit.

Mendel paints both in his New York City residence and at his Fleischmanns home, which has been in his family since 1952. His Catskill paintings often feature barns, horses, and trains. His paintings of trains recently caught the eye of Delaware and Ulster Railroad (DURR) General Manager Wes Coates who has commissioned Mendel to paint a picture of DURR’s trains.

Mendel’s paintings take between two days and two weeks to complete, depending upon the intricacy.

“I treat myself like a client. I must have it perfectly, I won’t just fake it,” he said, noting he has only torn up two paintings since he started.

“I ask myself the following questions, ‘Is this an interesting scene?’ I paint to sell, so I’ve got to make it attractive and appealing to the general public. The thing is, you never know what prompts somebody to buy a painting,” Mendel said.

The artists signs all of his paintings with the signature “Zepel” which was the name of a doll his parents gave him in Berlin that had to be left behind. While Mendel and his parents were able to escape Germany, his grandfather and grandmother were put in a concentration camp. His grandmother did not make it out of the concentration camp, but his grandfather was eventually able to make it to the United States where he lived for another 20 years. “He came down the steps, dropped to his knees and kissed the ground,” Mendel said of his grandfather’s arrival at the airport.

His family always played an important part in his life, with Mendel saying, “My family supported me in every way.” Mendel says he has no regrets about his life, having loved the work he has endeavored upon throughout the years. He continues to concentrate on painting every day, and he is ready to embrace whatever opportunities come his way.

“Everything is accidental in life. It depends on who you meet, and if you follow their direction. There’s no telling where it ends up,” he said.