While traveling in Florence, Italy in March, a favorite quote by dancer Isadora Duncan haunted me:

 

"You were wild once. Don't let them tame you."

 

(There's a lot to chew in that quote, isn't there?)

 

Back in the studio, I posted the quote in my sight line, prepped a blank canvas and got to work. Over days, rather than force an image or idea, I let the quote be a visceral guide as I continued to layer paint, turn the canvas, layer paint, turn the canvas, and so on. As this piece matured, I fell in love with how it became a prismatic kaleidoscope of an internal landscape.

 

Yes, I could see the imprint from spending a week absorbed in the lush color of Renaissance frescos in Italy.

 

Yes, I could feel the kinetic energy of a Florentine evening as light danced across the Arno River, restaurants crowded with people talking, laughing, loving, savoring.

 

But also...I could feel that this painting tapped into something that was wild once.

 

"You Were Wild Once" is not a painting where you look "at" something. This is a painting where you look into something.

 

"You Were Wild Once"

Acrylic Painting, 2026

36x36

Float Frame