"Innocent II - portrait of my daughter is a painting of the first of my two daughters, Romy. It is also, for me, a meditation upon innocence in childhood and the frailties shared by all persons.

"I began the painting at a time when an older child close to me was acutely vulnerable to the ailment anorexia nervosa, and the associated anxieties of this condition affected my conception of the painting and the disposition of the subject. I was preoccupied by the problem of how a girl beholds herself. For this reason the size and proportion of the girl became confused between childhood, adolescence and maturity and the painted figure acquired both poise and a nervous awkwardness.

"A memory of more archetypal European images is latent in the composition of the figure against the armature of the canvas and stretcher X-rayed with its perimeter of nails made visible.

"I have always wanted to title a work Innocent in an obscure homage to Velasquez' great papal painting Innocent X.

"Perhaps I should mention that for over two decades I have painted and drawn the nude human figure (and face) exclusively. The delightfully ridiculous garment, the tutu, is my first departure from this long-standing habit. The tutu dramatically alters human silhouette and surrounds the body with radiance - a halo of modesty.

"Romy is not a ballerina, but she does love to dress up."