Synthesizing surroundings

The symbols synthesize a landscape, an era, an atmosphere for me. I could now make up my own stories or situations and interact creatively with the world around me. The result is I found a way to deal with the feminine figure which had given me so much trouble as a student. The one aspect of Matisse I had been unable to swallow was his objectification of women in the famous 'Odalisque' paintings. Or at least I found it hard to identify with the artist if I also identified with the women who were his models. For a long time I had just left people out of the picture completely.