A visit i made early on in the Fellowship, which made an important addition and change to my research, was to the National Museum of Rome to view the frescos from the Villa di Livia. The all encompassing environment created by the frescos with an abundance of plant forms and birds exerted a significant influence on my own work. The screen like appearance of the grotesque work that I had studied at the Villa Madama opened up possibilities for a denser field to explore through my painting - this potentiality was enhanced after viewing the Villa da Livia Frescos. My research here took me to the Villa Farnesina where the two areas of my enquiry (a heightened sense of the natural environment and abstracted symbolism) appeared to come together. The Loggia of Cupid and Psyche with its abundance of ripe fruit and vegetables suspended amongst over grown frame work encapsulated wonderfully the combination of the symbolic and subversive image and message. 

— David Smith