This still life with a watermelon, bottle and a basket of bougainvillea is a homage to the leading 20th century Scottish-Italian colourist painter Alberto Morrocco. It is from my series of Aeolian Still Lifes set against the deep blue sky of the Mediterranean.

I created this image  in 1998, and it is dedicated to the memory of the great Scottish-Italian Colourist painter Alberto Morrocco OBE who died that year. Morrocco was of Italian descent, and his paintings were predominantly Italian street and beach scenes, portraits, and still lifes often with slices of watermelons on tables with kitchen knives in or beside them. Few if any 20th century artists give me as much pleasure as Alberto Morrocco’s work does.

Alberto visited Panarea twice, staying in our house with his family. Panarea certainly left an impression on him – motifs from Panarea such as the surrounding islands of Dattilo, Basiluzzo and Stromboli appeared in many of Alberto’s paintings even decades later.

I am very honoured to have been a family friend of Alberto; his son Leon is also a renowned painter and close friend.