Sharon Butler interviews painter Louise Fishman on the occasion of three exhibitions: Louise Fishman at Cheim & Read, New York (through October 27), Louise Fishman, Five Decades at Tilton Gallery, New York (through October 13), and Generations: Louise Fishman, Gertrude Fisher-Fishman, and Razel Kapustin at Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia (October 13, 2012 – Janury 6, 2013).

Fishman remarks: "Contrary to what a lot of people think, being a painter, making paintings, continues to evolve. I really believe that, or I wouldn’t be doing it… If I couldn’t introduce new experiences, materials, ideas into my work, I would be bored and there would be no reason for me to continue. One thing I will not do is make paintings that don’t teach me something. I often destroy something—not destroy it and throw it away, but scrape it down or repaint it or something, unless it really does something that’s like, 'Oh!' and teaches me something… I want to be alive, to have a really alive experience of working."