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(3) to work from a photograph than from a live model. The photo can be viewed on the same plane as the canvas. In the three self-portrait paintings, I worked from black and white photographs. In one case I had the dress available to work from, in the other two I did not have the garment...Thus I had to tone down that area of the painting. I tend to work monochromatically anyway. Someone I knew [another artist, Nancy Rosin] called me to ask if she could come over to take some photographs. When she arrived I asked if they were for a show she was planning, and she said she was trying to put together a show called "Narcissism," - [[crossed out]]I[[crossed out]] which was funny. It worked out wonderfully for me eventually. She photographed me in front of a mirror in two changes of clothing at the end of my studio. [In the last one there is part of a painting which was too big to come down from the wall.] Usually when I go away I grab a handful of things to work from and I ended up using three photographs that I had with me as subject matter this fall....The show "Narcissism" never materialized. Q.: Do you have a preference for certain paintings over others? Yes, the painting of Tomb of Unas was so distracting that I could not concentrate on any other painting with it in my studio. I had to take it off the wall before I could continue working.... At the moment I'm trying to loosen up so that the last double Self-Portrait is the one that I'm most fond of because it broke loose. Q.: What has been your interest in Provincetown? My first trip to Provincetown in 1952 was anticipated with a combination of curiosity and suspicion because I knew the type of people who would be up there. I arrived, saw the low tide in the bay and saw however-many-miles of flats shimmering in the sunlight and thought 'I'm home.' I've never really changed my mind about that.... Physically it's the most beautiful place I've ever been. The air had a clarity and sharpness that reinforced what I was already feeling I wanted in my painting anyway. Q.: Do you preconceive that you will work through a series on a subject, such as your group of Egyptian or Greek subjects? No, the way that started [the Egyptian subjects] was, after 2 1/2 years of wandering through Greece I decided that I wanted to do something other than a Greek background for a double Self-Portrait that I was working on. I finally picked up a book on Egypt and suddenly came to a picture of three columns and knew that was right. It was strictly a physical reaction. As for the Greek subjects, I had been working on a painting when my daughter brought home a book on Athenium art. I looked through it and found a photo of the Acropolis that I knew I wanted for the background of the painting. Q.: What kind of subject attracts you and motivates you to do a painting? It's the same element, whether landscape, person, or whatever -- a certain visual presence. For example, the clothing a person wears must be a visually interesting thing to work with. Your attitude is
