I feel most like an artist when I paint. I don't know why that is, though it has something to do with the fact that when I paint I have to "be there." I can't just coast when I paint. When I'm working in other media I can zone out and just work. I guess I'm more comfortable with, say, watercolor, pen and ink, etc. But oil painting is still something that I'm discovering as I move along.

I wrote in the first entry about discovery and how it plays an important part in everything I do: writing, drawing and painting, making music — everything. I do very little sketching before diving into a painting or a drawing. I have found over the years that, for me, if I put in a lot of time in trying to figure everything out beforehand, the actual process of working on the finished piece is diminished emotionally for me. I lose interest quickly because I feel I've already been there. At that point I'm just painting by numbers. Not good.

So I do very abstract thumbnails and then go directly to the painting or drawing from there. The thumbnail might have a simple value scale figured out and that's about it. This lets me see into the finish and enjoy the physical and mental act of drawing and painting. I love dipping my brush into the oil and then drawing very quickly on the white linen. Attacking the emptiness and revealing the image within. It's a lot of fun.

Fun is high on my list, too. I like to have fun. It's work, to be sure, painting. But it's also fun or I don't think I'd enjoy doing it as much. There has to be a balance there, I think.