Creativity stems from the ground up

 

My art it must begin in a place of calm and serenity. I have stopped listening to music completely when I create. It can interfere with an emotion or state of being that I must hold on to in order to transfer that to the piece. Sometimes I will stand with a blank canvas in front of me without paint, without intention and without sound for some time before I begin. With a few strokes of color the composition and emotion are laid out. It is those few actions that set the tone for the whole painting. In the end they are almost completely covered over but are as important as the last few marks that are made, the ones you see first.