Listening to my paintings advise me as I paint is what keeps my interest sharp with each one. I tend to repeat subjects that inspire me, like my friend Jordan. She is one of my favorite people to put into a painting. Sometimes I see Jordan in so many different ways and lightings that I have trouble deciding which one to do. When I settle on one concept, Jordan talks to me through the painting on the easel, changing the colors and lighting as I listen.
She isn't always there talking to me in person, I recall conversations we had while I did drawings of her. I work from drawings and sketches, or from photos. The works talk, telling me how much of Jordan is in the painting and how much of her needs to be in the painting. My paintings are not portraits, they are of many different people I know, with Jordan as their stand in. I tend to listen to Jordan as much as I listen to the painting. I see the family goat attacking her dad as she poses as the girl in a garden scene. She joins Kim in another painting to do some wading in a stream searching for crawdads.
Landscapes and still-lifes are real gabbers. Trees want to be taller and greener. Apples want to be as red as the roses and backgrounds are forever changing their minds. I think I know how each painting is going to look when I begin, but few seldom resemble the image in my head. Yet I'm always pleased with the finished piece, always happy with how I got to it. It's why I love painting, It's why I can paint the same subject over and over and learn something every time.
