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As hard as we try there are the times when real life intervenes and necessitates a break from painting. Depending on how long I’ve been away it can take a few days to pick up the thread and be able to paint well, in the groove. My solution is to paint for several days and wait for things to click. I rely on some type of formula to get me there. Hopefully formula mixed with direct observation will result in inspiration.

Understanding process is important, it can be at the core of inspiration, but when it becomes a formula to create an art product, or a template for style the work that results is lifeless. It is important to be fully present while painting, left brain, right brain + one heart.   Formula does have its place. In The Artist’s Way  Julia Cameron wrote about filling the form; doing the necessary things that encompass the work of making art: stretching canvas, cleaning brushes, tinting a canvas, transferring a sketch.. These are rituals, formulas of preparation before diving in. Filling the form or following a familiar process, I think of formula as a catalyst that allows the work to flow into a state pure painting.