I met NICK MARZULLO when I began my volunteer work as an art teacher at a local opportunity junior high school. He was a student in my first 9th grade class. I doubt he learned much from me, though - Nick was already worlds beyond anything I could have taught him. He would usually complete three or four different variations on each assignment before the rest of the class could finish even one page. The paintings showcased here are but a small sampling of the many beautiful canvases he created in his short lifetime.

Nick worked quickly with no apparent conscious decisions regarding color, form or composition. He never agonized over details of this nature, but just intuitively seemed to sense whatever was needed to transfer his imagination directly to his canvas. His brush had a life of its own, and his vivid and colorful work reflects his intensity and creative energy. As with Picasso, Nick, too, had his own unique style. The canvases created by these two artists could quite comfortably hang side by side in any art museum in the world.

Music was another of Nick's passions. His father (also an artist) set up a studio in his garage for Nick where he often painted throughout the night while listening to his beloved Miles Davis and Lou Reed CDs. Nick was a very old soul in a young body. These face paintings were done by Nick at age 12.

When someone so talented dies at such a young age, the loss always seems heavier and harder to bear. It's so difficult to say farewell to my little friend who once requested a live palm tree and a cake shaped like a pyramid for his fifth birthday. I will always remember Nick, and will do my best to make sure his beautiful work lives on to delight the eye of all who discover it.

An exhibition of Nick's paintings and a celebration of his life was held from January 18 ~ February 1, 2003, at the A Street Gallery, 312 South A Street, in Santa Rosa, California.