History is central to my work. I travel quite a lot in the US and have seen many changes since the late ’70s. From the brake-neck expansion of the suburbs, to the emptying of Main Streets, the decline of the industrial cities of the North, and the population explosion of the Sun Belt, America keeps morphing. In contrast with my upbringing, the country seems to be in constant motion. How can I understand these phenomena? What is behind it? Instead of trying to grasp the whole picture at once, I focus on regional history. Each community I study and render in paintings and drawings adds to my understanding. To prepare for a new series I visit the local communities. I take in the scenery and spend time with locals. I listen to stories, go to museums and art centers, look at monuments, read at the local library. The resulting paintings and drawings come from abstracting the research. We all have stories to tell.