A few years ago, I applied for and got a residency in a small town, Soryo-cho, in Hiroshima Prefecture. My hosts flew me, my bicycle and my photo gear to Osaka, where a truck met us for a four hour ride into the mountains. We, the three other artists and the staff lived in an elementary school, whose students were on Spring break. I slept in a dormitory room that normally held 30 students. I also had a classroom for my studio. But there were no photographic facilities, no enlarger, trays, safe lights, temperature controlled water, nor a computer, scanner, or printer. I had assumed that I would be provided with these regular means of making photographs. One night, after a splendid meal and spirited conversation, 75% of which I didn't understand, I thought these people, this organization is in effect asking me "Do you need all the stuff to make a picture? Aren't you a picture maker?" I had brought one box of photographic paper with me to make contact sheets. I did shoot a lot of film, but mostly I studied the effect of light directly on the paper. When I got back home and into my studio, I stopped those investigations and produced a few exhibitions to which I committed myself before going to Japan.
      For the last two years, I've been exploring a kind of "photographic drawing". In the 1970's the painters borrowed the fixed focus concept from photography to create Photo-Realism. In my new work I've borrowed painting and drawing concepts and rendered them photographically. Most of the images have been still lifes. These images I've shown to curators and collectors who know my work. Their response has been very encouraging. Recently, I've been making portraits. These range, surprisingly, from whimsical commentary to the demonic. I have never made pictures, which were frightening or satirical. When I see them come up in the tray, I say "It's just the light".
      Since I am still very much creating this new photographic form, I'm showing them only to curators and collectors I know. Once I have a commitment to put up a major show with a book, then I'll share them on the net.