“The book series came about when I was a single mom with two young sons and needed to paint. I studied with artist George Nick, and wanted to paint urban landscapes—but couldn’t leave the kids alone, and the weather in New England is not predictable.

While George had a painting van, I only had a small bedroom to work with. But—I could stack books, light them the way I wanted, paint in the comfort of my home studio while being a present mom. 25 years later, I’m still painting stacks of books.”