He had little experience in art by the time he enrolled, but soon settled into the traditional painting program led by professors such as Gerd van Dülmen, Emil Schumacher, Markus Lüpertz, Georg Baselitz and Per Kirkeby amongst others.
Interested in the work of David Park (painter), Elmer Bischoff and Richard Diebenkorn, Herman decided to move with his wife and child to the Bay Area.
Using gigantic painting formats with a loose, colorful hand while also integrating wood-block prints, Herman managed to be expressive and conceptual in his work and came to be recognized as the West Coast wing of the '80s Neo-expressionist movement.
Working alongside his painting, Herman would come to develop a unique methodology of making ceramics, almost as if his paintings and drawings were strewn across curved surfaces[5] Alongside his art practice, Herman together with friend and Austrian painter Hubert Schmalix and German film maker Chris Sievernich opened an artist run gallery in Downtown Los Angeles' burgeoning Chinatown district in 1998.
They exhibited many UCLA students at the time such as Nick Lowe, Ry Rocklen, Hannah Greely, Jonas Wood,[7] some of whom would gain notable recognition later in their career.