Why I Paint Objects.

A poem by Chilean Nobel poet laureate, Pablo Neruda, captures my feelings about objects and says, more clearly than I can, why I am drawn to paint them. Below I quote only a few lines from his poem, "Ode to Things":

I have a crazy,

crazy love of things.

I like pliers,

and scissors

I love

cups,

rings,

and bowls -

not to speak, of course,

of hats.

I love

all

things,

not because they are

passionate

or sweet-smelling

but because,

I don't know,

because

this ocean is yours,

it's mine:

buttons,

wheels

the little

forgotten

treasures,

feathered fans

on which

love has scattered

its blossoms,

glasses, knives,

scissors,

all have

on their handle, in their outline,

the traces

of someone's fingers,

of a distant hand

lost

in the most forgotten of the forgotten.