In college I studied on the floor of a library full of art books. During breaks I’d browse them, and after a few years I grew tired of the usual art periods—until I found the first book of Lucian Freud’s paintings. I still remember the impression: this feels like our historical moment. After graduate school in library science and my first job, I had enough disposable income to buy painting supplies and was determined to learn to paint like Freud. Years later I taught myself watercolor, inspired by Joseph Zbukvic, though Freud’s influence remained in my figures and portraits—I like that, because I’ve never seen watercolors like mine. What matters most to me is how far I can push abstraction while keeping a strong likeness; the painting must read as a painting, not a photographic copy.