The feeling that accompanies starting a painting is knowing that it could be the best thing you've made or it could be the worst thing, and not knowing which yet. You have to start with the premise that this image you are about to create is something that should exist in the world, and that premise can feel true or completely false depending on the day. There are so many small decisions between the final product and your first instincts at the very outset, and an infinite number of combinations and links between these decisions exist during the process. With the first brushstrokes I try to leave myself lots of room to change my mind, and instead of painting what I want to the viewer to end up seeing, I just jot down notes with the paint about the colors, shapes, energies, moods and spaces I want the final product to depict. It's so much more about the feeling of it rather than something to look at when I'm at this stage.
