Why painting is important to me:
I believe a painting is the primeval art form – the portrayal of the very soul of man and an expression of man’s thought and energy. Each painting is either a prayer or a salutation: a sign that you listen to the real and the imaginary. For me, the gratification that comes from going through the motions of painting is significant and is absolutely essential to my well-being and in this way I am conscious of being totally selfish.
--------------------------------------------------------------
They say inspiration is 99% observation.
So where does the other 1% come from?

The majority of my artistic creativity is the result of solitary confinement, which, as painful as it sounds, is admittedly very gratifying for me.

Working on my own helps me to think and find myself more easily, with less distraction from external noise of everyday living. The walls at home are thin enough to let the ear-splitting shrieks of the twins through, and as I get more caught up into the composition, I find it easier to shut the rest of the world out.

Like me, my paintings are varied in subject matter and I always want to do at least 10 things at any one time – Read, travel, paint and the more dramatic ambitions (don’t want to divulge them for reasons of my own). And it is for this reason that I always have more than one work-in-progress – each calling on me to take them to their completion.

It is quite disconcerting for me to paint in fits and starts and I am finding that this happens more and more. But maybe it is better to let go and not make any efforts to paint; but I find that is even more maddening.