Last week I was fortunate enough to have Chris Cran in to see my show and have a one on one with him a couple of days later at the gallery. I have always listened to Chris. He is a great painter and has a very good eye. It is hard to find someone that you can trust while looking at your work. With Chris I feel I have that. We walked around looking at the new series and I listened while we went from one painting to the next. This series is so new to me. I have felt each of the paintings but I have not seen them. Or not all of them. If that makes any sense? I remember when I was young and John Walker was in my studio and I had a painting which I thought was half done. John looked at it and said it is finished. I was floored. Finished? How could I stop working on this painting which was only half done. He then said to me, leave the painting for a week. Don't touch it. If after a week it does not look finished, paint on it.
I never touched that painting again. He later said to me that it was a felt situation and that I had not seen it yet. I learned a lot from that. What is great about working like this is that you are always looking. Always searching. Always finding.

Back with Chris, I was overwhelmed by his kindness and complements. One I will never forget was him describing a painting as f**king killer!
Painting is a quiet and lonely life. You spend so much of your time away from the public eye. So to put yourself out there and have someone like Chris praising my work like he did gives me the pat on the back that makes it easy to go back in to the studio.
Thank you Chris for a wonderful visit