“I once impulsively described myself as an accidental artist; on reflection, I think this must be because the work I like best has come from periods of wandering and play, or from improvising with pieces of earlier work, rearranging things into a more coherent whole. Acrylics, water soluble crayons, pens, papers, fabric and thread, glue and scissors are very amenable to this process and can sustain the accidental flow that wakes me up. Often I work from a still life set-up with my favorite domestic objects - dishes, flowers, and small statues. Or I look at a painting I admire as a way to then improvise on its composition or color. Occasionally I work from photographs, beginning upside down for best effect. Most recently I tried my hand at plein air oils. My day job as a psychoanalyst has brought me back into touch with a lost creative drive. It seems to take me, on its own steam, to places I can later study with a more purposeful eye, as with dreams and session notes. This process began in 2001 with blind contour sketches of nearby objects on a summer vacation. Later I began to add color or collage. When I am not clear yet what I want to make next, these blind exercises (looking only at the subject, not at the paper) serve as useful warmups. Sometimes I like them enough to frame them as a series, or transform them into larger pieces.”