A first painting completed back in the home place after decades abroad. I find that often the successful execution of a picture requires a sustained concentration and equanimity, repeatedly returning to the work day after day with a composure ready to take up where it was previously left off. Maintaining that focus and silence comes at the expense of everything else, and had been the most difficult task in a messy life to that point. It was also a return to old motifs with the hope of their development, over time, and in subsequent paintings, to a fresher and less contrived assemblage of colour and form.