In 2015, a leading heart surgeon invited me come to his operating theatre to paint a by-pass operation.

When the patient’s heart was revealed, I was moved by its beauty and amazed by the surgeon’s skill.  In particular I was struck when he said that opening someone’s heart was like opening the lid of a piano, because each has its own unique music. 

He later said that he didn’t act consciously, but felt his fingers were guided by a gifted outside energy. Witnessing open heart surgery made me reflect on the miracles of life and human intelligence more deeply than anything else I have experienced and continues to inspire my work.