Yesterday I had a moment of panic when I thought that nothing inspires me anymore. This kind of thing happens from time to time.

This morning I realized I have always had inspiration and still have it in the idea of “Home”. Some of my most successful shows were of paintings of family lamps, vases and chairs, or paintings of my living room. Home ignites my imagination, its what I always return to and is the common theme in everything I do. For me it has longevity and grounds me. I didn’t realize until today that even the toy soldiers have that element in them.

I began drawing the toy soldiers because I needed something to make me feel at home in a city I had no touchstone, no friends in. The more I looked at them and the more I painted them, the more comfortable I became, the more welcome…or something like that. Hey, at least I didn’t talk to them.

 

Everyone has something they look at in their home every day and there is an unconscious relationship to it. Even the simplest of objects can give us joy, and fuel us with confidence to attack the big bad world. So now I can say with all honesty when someone asks me what I paint, the purest answer is home. It’s what I know.

If I sit anywhere long enough, I make myself at home. One kind of has to…