A few years ago, I decided to explore that idea through my own visual language.
Rather than paper, I painted simple, graphic shapes directly onto canvas, allowing color, form and negative space to carry the paintings.
And then came the part of the story that completely surprised me.
As I dove deeper into Matisse’s life and his later work, I learned about the profound impression French Polynesia had made upon him and the influence of Polynesian quiltwork and textiles on the visual language that surrounded his later explorations.
I was stunned by the connection.
Here I was, decades later, living and painting in the Pacific, fascinated by many of the same things—bold shapes, extraordinary color, repetition, rhythm, positive and negative space.
I had arrived at this visual language through my own instincts, only to discover this remarkable connection to an artist who had influenced me throughout my career.
Apparently brilliant minds think alike. Ha!
The resulting paintings are unlike almost anything else I have created.
They are unmistakably mine, yet they represent a completely different chapter of my work—pure color, shape, rhythm and the spirit of the Pacific.
I didn’t create many.
And rather than separating them, I kept these paintings together in my personal collection.
