Well, I’m back from a very successful show and now beginning a painting I’ve been itching to work on for the past month or so.

I feel I have to fill the void coming fresh off of a show.  After working so hard, now I wake up with no immediacy to run errands, finish or start a painting, etc.  I find that I have to create my day in order to be motivated to create a painting.  It really is sometimes a conscious effort.

“Back to basics” seems to be the prime kick-starter for me to get back into the studio. For lack of better words: to paint to paint. No thoughts of money, needs, shows, competitions, doubts or offered opinions. I began painting because of its texture. Its smell. Its colors...and (this might only be me) but its ability to make my mouth water because of its colors...and the feeling of mixing oils and starting a new work...and then on to its ability to convey a thought, a sense, an idea through a purely visual outlet…and to have people see it and react to it emotionally...and on and on until I feel the same way I did when I started. Because it is fulfilling to me.

These are my thoughts as I begin again. These are the things that keep me on track if I stray from my direction. And each day, if I’m not feeling the forward momentum and that void returns, I just need to ask myself, “Why do I do this?”