Washington Square is my back yard.  I have spent many hours of my life here: swinging, people watching , picnicking, listening to live music, Easter egg hunting, admiring the beautiful gardens and playing in the snow. I have also seen the difficult side of life here: drugs, homelessness, humans on the edge, nudity (the National Geographic kind), unrest, anger, and lots and lots of rats. This park is like a mirror of all the things going on in the city: the things you want to see and the things you don’t. That is its magic. On good days, I find the park like my painting: full of vibrant New Yorkers enjoying a beautiful day.