I used to love painting everyday scenes the towns I live in and around. I tended to paint older, but not “historic” places. Frequently I would paint something - that I truly thought was beautiful - and it would be torn down. Once, I heard a woman who was showing my paintings in her shop say, “Sarah paints ugly places and makes them beautiful.” I was too polite to tell her that was not exactly right. I always thought these places were beautiful. It hurt me to see my subjects torn down and replaced by something new. A few times I tried to paint newly built places, and sometimes it worked out. But I can never paint something I think is ugly. When I choose a subject, it’s always because I love something about it.