Certainly one of the most important aspects of painting is being there.
Sitting before the scene, watching the light play across the shapes and angles in the course of a day and over several days in weather good and bad. One could talk at length on the thought behind the paintings; the why perhaps of the odd shape, or the wherefore of the only slightly disjunct perspectives; however art today is filled those who philosophize more than they paint. a "concept" is interesting to read about in a magazine- it almost never has presence (sol lewit excepted). These three paintings were painted (mostly) at Malastrana. This road starts at Strahov and continues by the German and American embassies. While keeping the verisimilitude of the scene, each work subtly plays with the perspective and the three together bend the whole space around the observer.

 1X2M

1996
 

The first painting as one leaves the orchard and is confronted by hradcany and Vitus is perhaps the most obvious. By the time I was working on this it was October, however prague's brief summer was waning slowly and it was surprisingly dry. I had perfected a nice beam 'cross the back of the strechers and a canvas strip with which i could carry the painting from my studio at the social kultural center in Dejvicka. A bit of physical labor is always good to clear the mind before setting down to real work. This painting flowed from the brush smoothly- after the initial gestures were sketched out no changes really needed to be made-just a lot more paint.truly it is only the initial feel for the work that need to be set down at the site; figuring out the space-and what can be done to the compositionto make it work. Relating to the surroundings, if one can watching the seasonspass, the essence of place, must be sensed to take liberty with a space, to break it apart and get at its heart. This is however a luxury, mostly one can barely get to the Place once, and if then for half an hour because a storm brews up. even that, and what may seem a failure, is worth it for the sweat and worry expended....

 
 2X1M
 

The second painting is the view as you look left through the nunnery up at the massive front of buildings looming at the side of Hradcany. This was done in the height of Prague's two week summer; a burst of 10 or twelve days in the middleof August that caught me blessedly jobless, and between a trip to Utrecht(veryhigh on the medieval skyscraper there, listening to PJ Harvey and working on one of my circuit board paintings) and a trip to the Costa Verde in Spain.For these days Prague seems especially surreal- the colors are too bright,the sky too blue, even the cobble stones too clean for the tragedy that has often stalked them. But it is wonderful to stay out 'till the 5 am dawn...

 
 1X2M
 

The last painting ends with a view that i first saw at dawn after a crazy summer solstice in 1995. my friend Pete and I were stumbling down Petrin hill and we took a random way. As we emerged from the orchard, in the lavender light of dawn, St. Mikulas(Nicholas) church came into view. We then slowly made our way to the Derby for brunch, the only salve for our by then aching hangovers. It took me several weeks of exploration to find again what drunken luck had led me to, and then an unfortunate respite in the states before i could finally paint this scene. The mirror shows the view back up the hill to Strahov-tying the three paintings into a four dimensional granny knot.