All of my recent work, no matter how abstract it might seem to an unsuspecting audience, has as its origin everyday life. By wiping away carefully built-up layers of paint, I have depicted many of my immediate surroundings: the trees outside my window, the buildings across the courtyard, the distant rooftops and their chimneys. Those more familiar with my painting would say it has an element of Edward Hopper’s work. Both the subject matter and the light quality are similar.

However, this aspect of my painting practice is not something that I have willingly acknowledged and actively pursued. To paint the way Edward Hopper did, uncritically and without self-consciousness, seemed to me an indulgence that I would not, could not, afford.

For me, ‘Amerika’ as a site of collective dreams, myths and fantasies offers a place for such indulgence. It is that imaginary space where I can look out of the window and paint simply what I see.  And in this particular arrangement of roofs, brickwork, shuttered windows and blue sky I do see a Hopper painting, with the lonely figure about to step out on the white-railed balcony.                     MW2013