Earlier this year, while pursuing the work I did on Luzern, I noticed a parallel with Kathmandu. Both cities thrived on their position as gateways to mountain passes and long-distance trade. Also both cities sit on land masses (Italy and India) that floated up via plate tectonics and created spectacular mountain ranges (Alps and Himalayas) as they crashed into larger objects.
The Luzern work began with a painting, so why not make the next painting about Nepal? I reviewed my collection of photographs thinking I would tackle one of those dense urban scenes with the Newari shop-houses that so caught my imagination. But in the end I decided that the most interesting composition from a painter’s perspective was a small row of houses in the rural hinterland of Kathmandu. Buildings that tell the story of a way of life that has endured for centuries.
My working method is familiar by now. Process the image to simplify and abstract so that my painter’s eye can get to work without…