Plaster, paper, mixed media on wood. 29″x 18 3/4″. Collection of the artist.

I began painting the Madonna that is the foundation of this mixed media work when I was a preteen. From an early age I was visually attracted to an Early Renaissance sensibility- tho I don’t remember how I was first exposed to it—and to this subject matter; I can’t say why. Growing up, we attended church but would not describe our family as religious. I knew I wanted to be an artist and this was what i was drawn to paint. A year spent in Florence in 1974 deepened my affinity for this imagery and for the icon.