I usually start with a plan in my head. I don’t sketch, except in that those first brushstrokes are a sketch.

I have an idea… a reasonable vision of the finished product. But I play along the way. My hand gives me surprises that I like to follow.

At other times, I just paint with no finished product in my mind. That is also how I write most of the time. I trust my brain and my hand to cooperate in expressing something authentic to my neurons and striated muscle cells… my stream of consciousness, manifested by my physical body.

I’ve said this many times before, but the main thing I need to do is pick up a paintbrush, and dip it in some paint. I don’t believe in some magical state of mind that takes an ordinary human and turns them into an artist. Clark Kent just has to take off that business suit. He’s already Superman.

When I’m writing, too, I just keep a grip on the moving pen.

Different pieces have different messages, but I definitely feel that art is a language.

Some of the messages in my paintings are that you are special. There is nothing wrong with you, and you are only limited by self imposed restrictions.

People love their rules! I don’t.

Have I ever been unable to express my creativity to the fullest? Always! I think the well of creativity is so deep we could never express it to the fullest. We express what we know, or what we think right now, but you know that critical eye we use when we look at the work? That eye tells us there is always more to say. Or it tells us what to fix.

Sometimes, my eye tells me I did alright! That is a good feeling. But doing alright is far from expressing to the fullest.

I think you can have passion and reasonable expectations.

Speaking of which, one thing that inhibits me is expectation. Maybe someone else’s expectation, for example when I’m doing a commission. Or my own expectation. The moment I think I’m going to create something great, you can bet it’s going to be junk.

I didn’t choose my passion any more than I chose my foot size or my eye color. I guess you could say I chose to work at it. You’re good at what you practice. That’s true of skills like painting, writing, photography as well as your attitude or outlook. If you practice complaining, you’re going to get really good at it and have a negative outlook. If you practice being awesome, you can be good at that, too.

I feel most creative in the bathtub. That is no joke. I think some of the reasons are that the bathtub is a private, quiet place. This was especially true when I had kids in the house. I was rarely interrupted or disturbed in the tub. Now I live alone, and bathe with the door open. My cat likes to visit me when I’m bathing. Also, in the bathtub, I am warm and comfortable. I’ve always enjoyed soaking. I do most of my writing in the tub. Now, after all these years, the tub is kind of a trigger for the creative thoughts to swim out from under the rocks in my head, like a gong can be a trigger for meditation.