"Here are a few things that come to mind regarding 'place.' In general, I suppose I feel a bit 'dis' placed. I have moved around quite a bit throughout my life. As a child I grew up in Michigan, so I was familiar with life in the Midwest when I returned here after living for fourteen years in New York. In some ways I still feel like a stranger in Bloomington – I get lost on short drives outside of town. We have the New York Times delivered, but sadly, only buy the local paper periodically. The one thing that identifies the Midwest for me is living in a survey township – a feature that is common to Michigan as well. I suppose our 'place' is our home, which I think of as an Edenic space. None of the watercolors that I am including in the show were done in Indiana, but instead were done in Florence and northern Michigan last summer. They are both places close to my heart. I have made seven trips to Italy over the past twenty-five years and have spent extended time in Florence on five occasions, so I know Florence pretty well. I painted some of the places around Florence I love best with a special emphasis on views that included sculpture – which was a sneaky way to get the figure into a number of the paintings. Michigan represents a kind of ideal wildness to me. It is all air, water and sand."
Wow! You are quite the world traveler! I share your fondness for Italy, specifically Florence, and can imagine how an artist could feel exceptionally inspired there! Do you feel as though your style/technique have been directly influenced by your geographic location and surroundings, or does the distinction lie mostly between the contrasting subject matters?
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