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As a painter my work has often been involved with other cultures and art. Since, it is hard to articulate the process of influence crossing from an obvious, i.e., literal one to what one may call a 'spiritual' response [[strikethrough]] and, [[/strikethrough]] I do not have a preconceived notion of how exposure to long admired Indian art will affect my [[strikethrough]] own [[/strikethrough]] work. For me the assimilation process is most effective when unself-conscious. It is more exciting to see an influence emerge unexpectedly and in its own time than to force an image or idea into one's work. Previous experience, especially with Greek art, has shown that a deeper, more powerful 'inspiration' [[strikethrough]] and power [[/strikethrough]], can take place much later and last far beyond the scope of the original contact. In that case it took ten years, although I did do some paintings while I was in Greece and in the 50's did a series of paintings inspired by Greek mythology.
 
There are places in India to which, judging from photographs, I have a special affinity: Ajanta,[[strikethrough]] - no verb [[/strikethrough]] certainly, and for decades, but also Mahamallapuram, Elephanta, Rameswaram etc. A brief trip to India in 1989 was a revelation. There was work in the National Museum in Delhi far different from any I had seen in the United States. As someone always interested in archaeological sites, I fell totally in love with Fatiphur Sikri and it has both haunted me and whetted my appetite for more. While to date it has appeared only in a very minor way in a painting, I can anticipate a more subtle appearance at some future time. My work would no doubt be affected by experiencing the temples since, besides their obvious beauty, they embody a range of art forms that has long interested me. 

I also have a particular interest in architecture and elements have often been used as subject matter in paintings and drawings. The temples of the south would undoubtely provide source material for more than anyone's normal creative lifespan. While I do want to see as much as I can in situ, past experience has shown me that one can absorb only so much travel and looking at art before eye fatigue and a desire for work set in. Both in Italy and Greece my usual pattern was three weeks  of looking and then extended stops for work and assimilation of what was seen. In Italy I stayed for three months in Florence and painted and took short trips from there. Before the start of my Fulbright to France, I was able to travel to Greece and stayed in Delphi for two months. Using that as a base, I travelled to Crete and the Peloponnesos. Aside from the paintings I did in Delphi I was able to do a few small works on the trip towards France.

More recently, I drove across the country on my way to a job in California and took photographic notes and did some watercolors while traveling. Painting took place during my four month assignment to the University of California and after my return home. In fact the major painting I did, based on photographs taken in Monument Valley, is now in the U.S Embassy in The Cameroon, under the Arts in Embassies program. The brief trip to India produced hundred of photographs and a few dozen watercolors, some of