Coming Home, 84" x 110", oil and acrylic on paper, 1985. Museum collection.

This large composition was initiated for the purpose of developing the methods and concepts which brought Arrangement With Zebra into being. However, the result of my initial intent was ultimately guided by new influences, conceptual ideas, and methods. A friend had just returned from a trip to China and showed me the numerous photos she had taken there. I was enchanted by the bright, high-key color of the advertising signage and decorative banners which presented to me a unique and dynamic usage of color which was completely foreign to my experience. A majority of the colors of this composition are derived from my delight in what I perceived as the uniquely Chinese aesthetic regarding color.

Another conceptual departure involves my utilization of the picture plane as a surface upon which I literally painted some of the sheets of paper which comprise the composition itself. The outlined rectangular area in the lower right of the composition was the staging area wherein several of the panels were executed. At some point after the total composition was nearly set, I prepared a cup of black paint and flung it into the center of the "staging area" of the composition. In retrospect, for all of its initial intent and ancillary influences, I view this piece as a largely ritualistic work wherein my concern for the steps taken in the process of creating this work become visual and conceptual factors in the appearance of the completed piece.