The only way to sort your thoughts out is to really turn off everything
and not be distracted and be away from your friends,
and your boyfriend and your girlfriend, and your parents And as an artist
you're faced with questions What are you going to give the world? And not, what are you going to get? I think it is very important. When I left photography
I was at the top of the world I had contracts with major magazines and making lots of money and stuff But that was never
what really was my goal in life My goal is to take
really beautiful pictures I always wanted a place When I was living in New York,
in the East Village I always dreamt of having
a little cabin in the woods because that's where I really felt myself And then later I came to Maui when I sort of had said what I could say in fashion and in portraiture I really thought I was done
with photography a decade ago and then God had other plans for me The life of an artist is very different from being a doctor, a lawyer I was young and I was showing in galleries but I couldn't make a living off of it I could have just stayed,
banging on those gallery doors but then there was
another door down the hall "Interview" was such
an important magazine about culture and I jumped at the chance And that led to
a 20-year career in magazines So there's always been
the celebrated people whether that's been kings,
or the aristocracy the entertainers and politicians,
and things like that Celebrated people have always been
sort of god-like to people whether it's the Beatles, or Elvis You see the same emotions
when people would cry for the Beatles that you do when people
have a vision of the Virgin Mary It's sort of the same well of tears
that they're coming from Growing up in the Catholic Church I was exposed to metaphysical ideas ideas of transcendence an idea of mind, body, and spirit So trying to photograph the spirit and trying to photograph enlightenment and that staying in the light and things of that nature I love the idea of forgiveness I love the ideas where you'd see
John the Baptist pouring the water or the woman anointing
Jesus' feet with oil The representation, the Pietà the representation of the greatest loss which is a mother losing a child I've used that many times in my pictures as that symbol, the greatest loss And I'm not looking
through books or magazines or the internet for inspiration I don't think that's the place to find it I think going within,
being alone in nature and the realm of the miraculous or the realm of just being open to Everything's coming from my brain,
that I'm open to catching ideas and that's something
that's been affirmed to me throughout my life When you open yourself up to that idea and of the realm of magical or the realm of possibility and having faith you allow for things
that are sometimes miracles sometimes it's a sort of synchronicity And that's what I find
when I'm out here in Maui I really find life's questions
get answered when you have solitude and you have time to think about things
and introspect and contemplate And you've got to give yourself
that time to turn off all the noise That's super important I think we understand our place
in the world a little bit better when we are confronted with the elements we're confronted with giant oceans and the vastness of the jungle And that's pretty much
the closest we can get to the idea of spirit or soul
