Italy and its wonderful cities - Rome, Venice and Florence - quickly became one of my favorite painting subjects. Fourteen times I went to lose myself in the streets of the "Queen of the Adriatic" and to explore the lagoon between Murano and Torcello.

Two weeks spent in Tuscany gace me the feeling that the richness of Italy had the power to make every on of us a bit more intelligent.

Ireland is another country wich profoundly touches me. During my first stay Cork country, I was so impressed by the landscapes where sea and land rival each other in beauty that I was able to paint around fifty wathercolrs. In 1994, as I traveled to the counties of Connemara and Mayo, I was even more impressed by that land whose beauty equals that of its friendly and welcoming citizens.

In between my regular trips to the Antipodes, including French Caledonia and Reunion Island, I often go to Brittany to paint, in particular to the island of Batz. A few nautical miles from Roscoff, that small fishing island where I learned to catch shrimp and cockles helped me understand the life of the islanders.