UNDER CONSTRUCTION (but you may read what I've written thus far)
Every piece begins with the seed of an idea, a glimpse of what might be, perhaps only one facet of the completed work. Like a writer, I toy with various approaches to developing the idea, mostly on sketch paper, but if the creative juices are flowing, I sketch on whatever is available to preserve the concept for later refinement. Once I've produced a sketch with which I'm satisfied, I progress to a freehand drawing directly onto my substrate (surface on which art is presented, i.e., canvas, foam board, metal, etc.) or use a transfer medium to accomplish this. At this point, the real dilemma begins as choices must be made regarding color, paint vs paper, and basic design elements must be considered as an underpinning of those choices. Once the paper lay-in commences and the work begins to breathe (yes, breathe, as in "take life"), my role becomes secondary and I intuit what must be added, omitted, or revised as the work reveals itself. The paper lay-in is both the most tedious and rewarding part of the creative process, for it is here that the work is "born" and discovery begins, not only of what the work is, but, of what it might become. This is the point at which I sift through magazines (National Geographic is a favorite!) and find the colors, textures, shadows, and highlights that best express my vision.