Artist Notes:
I spent the winter in Southeast Asia with the intention of creating a series of landscapes that that would reflect the essence of my Thailand experience. Over the past 25 years my work has been a reflection of natural landscape, predominantly in Northwestern Connecticut, and prior to my departure,
I had yet not formed preconceived ideas regarding my intended area of focus. The language of my art has always been built upon landscape studies and their evolution in Europe and the Americas. My Thai paintings are a further development of this personal art form.

A majority of the Thai Sojourn Collection paintings depict an agricultural area of Northeastern Thailand called Esan. Residents of Esan live below Thailand’s poverty level and are not a part of the growing tourism industry that has impacted larger urban Thai Cities. In Esan, life has changed very little over time and subjects that would have attracted the Barbizon school artists of 19th century France or even American painter George Inness, are still prevalent. I discovered striking similarities between the natural scenes from Esan and my New England subjects. Often the most significant differences were finding water buffalo and coconut palms populating the landscape, instead of Holsteins and maple trees.

Boat Series
I visited Loung Pa-bong in Laos on the Mekong River. There are many gracefully designed river boats typically painted either red or green that dock there. The small fan-tail fishing boats are also prevalent along the Mekong. My only regret is that I was not able to spend more time in Loung Pa-bong. I really experienced only a small sampling of what I would enjoy painting there. I could easily make another trip to Asia, simply to paint the diverse boat types.

Paintings of the Buddhist Watt
The “Watt” is the area around the temple where monks live and work. This series of paintings reflects the life of monks and the palpable quiet that is induced by years of spiritual practice. I was also touched by the vibrant orange color of their robes; in the same way that the orange of the sun can affect an evening landscape.

Lotus Ponds
Water and reflection have always been an interest of mine. In Thailand, I again gravitated towards this theme. Many of the paintings in this series provide a perspective from a ponds edge, looking into a tangle of Lotus pads. Reflecting on my own childhood, I recall playing at the waters edge and enjoying the reflection of the sky or trees on its surface, but also absorbing what could be seen on the pond's bottom and what floated within the water. This collection is predominately painted in a vertical format
so that the viewers focus is drawn down, in and then up.