Where Do Ideas Come From?

Deciding what my next project will be is sometimes a mysterious process.

When sitting down at my jewelry workbench, 

I often don't know what I'll make 

and need to look at my collection of materials 

until something stands out and starts an internal discussion.

Just a flicker of an idea 

is enough for me to begin a direction that is often altered, 

but that initial momentum 

gets my creative thoughts flowing.

My paintings begin from a variety of inspirations...

a photograph, 

a particular combination of colors, 

the atmosphere at dusk

and sometimes....

what I see through the windshield of my car.

Several weeks ago,

my morning drive to work was very slow 

due to the heavy rainfall.

Moving along at around 4mph,

I periodically turned off my windshield wipers 

and liked how the accumulating raindrops

began to abstract the view.

Considering what I might want to present 

in several upcoming shows,

I thought that these rainy morning images 

could possibly be the inspiration for a series of paintings.

Each image can stand alone as an interesting composition,

and the grouping suggests a storyline

that can invite a variety of interpretations.

The beginning of this week was all jewelry

as I prepared for a Thursday delivery of new inventory to 

Woodmere Art Museum.

Last night,

I was ready to get back to painting.

On a piece of gessoed, 140 lb, 

cold pressed cotton paper,

I did a quick, rough sketch in graphite

as I looked at one the my rainy morning images 

on the small screen of my phone. 

Using  acrylic Neutral Grey, Parchment and Titanium White,

the sketch was developed as a monotone image

with textures made by my favorite wooden skewer.

Once I began using paints,

I stopped looking at the picture on my phone,

preferring instead to refer to my memory...

another layer of abstraction

like the raindrops on my windshield.

When the first layer of paint dried,

hints of color were added with 

Light Blue Violet and Green Gold.

After that application dried,

a bit of shadowing was done with a charcoal stick.

While I see areas that could be enhanced and developed,

I'm liking the spontaneity and energy that this piece conveys.

So...

maybe it's done.

And that's where ideas come from....

sometimes...

for me, 

at least.