In Tuscany I had a studio in the village of Strove and many of the paintings were done in the orchards and vineyards there. The patterns of rich dark foliage, set against the pale Indian red soil, was really inspiring.. I also did a series of paintings near San Gimignano, that most imposing of Tuscan towns. I used the skyline as a backdrop and set these extraordinary towers at a distance, below which, lay the intricate and ordered patterns of the landscape.

In Sicily I discovered an island of contrasts, from the coastline to the sunbaked hills. Most of my paintings were done in these hills, where the sensual rolling shapes, draped in ever moving light and shadow, were a visual feast. Amongst the fields of golden crops I discovered the green sculptured shapes of cacti, which feature in a number of my large Sicilian paintings.