The paintings from the earlier period stand apart from what was created before and after them. The break that followed the phase of Romantic Symbolism was quite long-eight years. All of those years were filled with the work of icon restoration.

As often happens when one period comes to an end, all your inner forces redirect themselves toward other meaningful values. A certain natural phenomenon, a specific event or perhaps even a simple everyday scene you happen to witness can stir an emotional response. You feel the urge to share that feeling with others, and that is the call to create. Paradoxi- cally, what at first is felt as joy often turns, over time, into a kind of sorrow. Perhaps everything in art must be lived in some way through suffering. But these are gentle sorrows. They keep the soul and the heart from gro- wing numb. They allow us to remain open and responsive to the world around us to live emotionally.

Visual art is one of the ways in which a person can affirm that life; living in connection with nature and the living world is a treasure, one of the greatest pleasures of all.