As I face the blank canvas to start a new painting, it is as if I’m driving on an unfamiliar road, not knowing where it will lead. With the first brush strokes, street lights come into view, I recognize the landmarks… I’m on the way home.
I want my work to reflect a moment in time, to tell a story, to give pause for contemplation and, yes, even a smile of recognition.
Much of the art produced by the great 19th and early 20th century painters had a profound influence on my work from my earliest memories.
The visual paradise I found walking through the galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago, the smell of oil paint in the classrooms and all the intensity of achieving perfection still resonate in my memory.
Even today, when I feel the need to experiment in new directions I seem to be drawn back to my first infatuations. But I know the urge to try “something else” will always persist, leading who knows where. It’s an inevitable part of the creative process.