Blue Dream

As I work on a new piece, I’m always thinking. Like, letting my mind wander. Typically, there’s an underlying visual idea that I’m trying to work out, and so I start with that and just see where it goes. I put some music on and get to work, just enjoying the meditative process of making something and seeing what I’ll end up thinking about this time.

Sometimes, the work all flows naturally and I end up with something that looks like what I kind of had in mind. More often, though, I end up with decisions to make and things I’d like to try based on how the work is going. It feels very similar to developing a photograph, but for abstract ideas in my head.

When it’s all done, I usually have several other concepts in the hopper based on all the things I was thinking about, the experience of making something new, and the surprises that happened along the way.

The journey with this piece was interesting and particularly enjoyable. The urges to add something or change something or what to do next all seemed like memories of a dream instead of stuff I was actively engaged in or thinking about. So I just went with it.