I’ve had to face it. I’m not one of the artists people write how-to-get-inspired books for. There are so many paintings I dearly want to paint that I’m not going to live long enough to do them all. And that’s today. Tomorrow there will be more; and the week after that, and the week after that. 

The more I learn as an artist and a person, the more paintings I see. They come knocking in my dreams. They adorn my yard saying, “Paint me. Paint me again. I’m different from yesterday. You’re different. See?”

That means I don’t have time, usually, for themed shows, even though that kind of challenge is great fun. I’m too busy painting my current loves. Every now and then, though, a show theme comes up that snags me, pulls me around, then matches me up with an inspiration that’s been on the back burner. That’s when magic happens.

This time, it’s the “Dreams” show at Fountain City Art Center. I knew right where to look: my last Cape Cod photo shoot with J, one of the best models on earth. This pose has pulled at me since the day of the shoot; I just couldn’t match it up with the right feeling. Now I can. I’m going to call it “Dreamer”. It will be a part of my Unveiled series, and this is how it has begun.

I’d better hurry, though. It’s got to be framed and ready for entry on January 12th. I’ll let you know how it goes!