Italy, the compass point to which I always return, forms the backdrop for many of my paintings.
In 1997 and 1998, I spent eight months living in Florence, and have returned many times to travel
extensively throughout Italy.  What strikes me as most extraordinary about the Italian landscape is
the interplay of the perfect line and form of classical architecture, with the rugged, often turbulent
geography that surrounds it.  I find inspiration in the delicate forms within Roman frescoes, as well
as in the gnarled, wizened branches of an ancient olive tree.

My more recent travels in Turkey and Pakistan have opened up a new world for me, from
the opulent past of the Ottoman and Mughal empires, to the fascinating, sometimes subtle
paradoxes of life in a modern Islamic society.  I am astounded by the intricate patterns and brilliant
colors of Islamic architecture, contrasting with the simple yet beautiful form of the traditional dress
of Pakistan, the salwar kameez.  I am captivated by the melding of kingdoms and cultures in Turkey,
from the ancient Greek and Roman, to the Byzantine, the Seljuk and Ottoman empires, to the very
modern secular state it is today.