For 25 years, Jeffery Schwartz was a criminal defense attorney in Tucson. Now, in a sudden departure from litigation, Schwartz has begun his career as an artist by hosting his first exhibit at Hotel Congress.

"(Schwartz) just decided that being a lawyer just wasn't what he wanted to do anymore, so he woke up one day and decided to be an artist," said David Zeigler-Voll, a graphic designer and promoter for Schwartz.

"I withdrew from the practice of law to concentrate on my abiding interest in art," said Schwartz, "and I now reached a level where I want to exhibit my work and share my enthusiasm for the potential the downtown has to offer."

Kicking off the exhibit will be a "meet the artist" reception in the hotel lobby on Saturday, September 6 from 7 to 9 pm.

Schwartz's art features digitally altered "on the fly" sketches of downtown Tucson, particularly Hotel Congress and CafŽ Quebec.

"I was drawn to the wonderfully eccentric lifestyle of downtown Tucson and its alternative bias," said Schwartz. "I started sketching (Hotel Congress and CafŽ Quebec), trying to capture the ambiance, the unique congregations of people, the shifting shapes and patterns. (I wondered) would it be possible to document visually the sociology and the character of this unusual environment?"

"His art has a kind of like a Toulouse Lautrec vibe, with recording daily life." said Zeigler-Voll.

After composing sketches of downtown scenes, Schwartz then digitally alters them on his computer to make a unique medium for his art.

"(Schwartz) scans the sketches into an image cropper on his computer and then takes the images and outputs them onto large pieces of paper," said Zeigler-Voll, "Then he draws on top of that with markers and pencils. It's almost like a photocopy."

Schwartz then takes the digitally altered images and adds depth to create a finished product.

"I became interested in the possibility of digitally enhancing my spontaneous color pen and ink sketches, transforming them using photographic techniques into a larger format, cropping them, playing with shadows and texture, and working in black and white," said Schwartz. "Then I started working on the digital enhancements at my studio, resurfacing them, adding shading, line and accents, with ink and markers.

"I became interested in developing the rough and documentary effect of digital reproduction and turning it into a warmer, more colorful and whimsical viewpoint," Schwartz said.

As his first public show, Hotel Congress exhibit will feature eight pieces by Schwartz, all of which are for sale by the artist. It promises to be an exciting entrance of a new artist to the Tucson scene.

The exhibit runs through to October 3, 2003.