My paintings “Painted Prayers” offer prayers for preserving human dignity, human rights, and world peace in the face of historical hatreds.

The ability of the human spirit to endure and tell its story inspires me. I see hope and beauty in this spirit.

Living in Europe, Asia, and both coasts of the United States, observing the every day life of people, their passions, struggles, and the spirit of their lands moves me to respond in paint.

Different countries are full of contrasts: both wealth and poverty, good and bad, integrity and corruption. Each reflects its complex history and the lost cultures that exist just below the surface.

As part of my art-making process, in my travels I fill books with small gouache paintings. From these sketches I get ideas for larger works. I connect with the freedom and colors of Mexican art and architecture and with the women in the book, Painted Prayers; Women’s Art in Village India, by Stephen Huler.

And then I come home to the beauty and boldness of the Maine coast, its islands, and its people.