About this time of year, we start to see lists: The best movies, the best novels and so on. I am going to add my own list: The Artists I admire. Let’s see if I can keep it up until the end of the year. No. 1 on the list is Francis Bacon. I am crazy about his work. He influenced me to do my first triptych and I am now working on my first pentaptych. No. 2 on list of Artists I Admire. A little girl in Italy sees a painting by Amedeo Modigliani and gets a glimpse of what art

In my previous art talk, I introduced my work and what led me to produce the paintings for the MEDITATION IN THE CATACOMBS show. Now I would like to talk to you about the source of my inspiration – the city of Venice. Venice may be sinking, may be way past its heyday, it’s overcrowded with tourists and full of cheap souvenirs and yet, it remains a haven for artists including the artist standing in front of you. Every time I go back to Venice, I wonder if this will be the trip