I remember reading a letter Van Gogh wrote in which he speaks of leaving behind his work as a "souvenir" (the word he used), a memory, of his life.

 

I think that this is the magic of meaningful art, our ability to use our senses and our particular perception to share with others what we've experienced and felt deeply.

 

I don't think it's the artist's job to add psycho- social and political explanations to the work. Let the academics do that.

 

My work is the result of trying to reach outside myself to observe, empathize and connect with the world, and express experiences I feel deeply and can only express in drawing or painting.

 

At 73 I have had more than a 10- year hiatus while absorbed in establishing a school where people clan learn the traditional skills that are no longer part of most art programs.

 

I think it was a good thing to do and have no regrets, but

 

I now find myself hungry to get back to my own work.