When I got off the ferry in the harbor of the Greek island of Sifnos in 1972, I was 21 years old and very serious about being a painter. I had had three successful shows and I had just been accepted to a three-year Master of Fine Arts program at the Royal College of Art in London. I was, I guess, a little full of myself, but very disciplined. Drawing and painting were all that mattered to me, and I had come to Sifnos looking for a quiet place in the sun to work in peace.