Art is in my blood, a habit for someone born in the heart of Europe. Old masters speak to me. So I imitate them, learn from their experience. Sometimes I paint like the old (and modern) masters for the sheer pleasure and challenge. Other times I’ll combine the style of great painters because I’ve been carrying an idea in my head for years and the visual representation can only become manifest through the brushes of masters separated by time and space. And then there is the very utilitarian aspect of painting old masters: How better to own a painting that isn’t for sale or is expensive then to make a copy yourself?