That's how I roll

As I was recently contemplating a failed pastel of New York (aka a "wiper"), I had a bit of an epiphany about how I work.  I'm really not much of a planner.  I know this doesn't seem too revelatory to those who know me well, but bear with me.

After trips to New York City and out west, I was determined to do a series of paintings based on photos I had taken.  I gave it a lot of thought, went through photos, cropped them and played with images.  In other words, I spent a lot of time planning them out.  But looking back at all my paintings, these aren't the best ones.  The best ones are those that I had no idea I was going to paint until I stepped foot in my studio.  A few involved some minor planning - I did take the time to crop the photo of the brownstone, but it was only a few minutes before I started on the canvas.  And although I had considered the nautilus, it was an impulse the day I finally decided to paint it.

So, lesson learned.  I will have more paintings of the southwest and New York - when I feel like it, not when I think I have to.  Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go paint...something.