Each blank canvas is an opportunity, a precipice that I must hurl myself off. Step one is to create my harness by taking a thick piece charcoal and writing a message to myself of what I want this piece to evoke. Sometimes it is a sentence or two from a poem or book, such as, “A woman stands alone” or “A drop fell on the apple tree, another on the roof” by Emily Dickinson. This is useful in two ways; it gives me structure and shines a light through the snow blindness of the empty white panel.

In the process of correlating the colors, values and marking, with paint, charcoal, pencil and even by sanding, I conceal the words and a visual conversation begins between the painting and myself. Thus, by adjusting over and again from hints given by previously applied paint, a landscape is revealed.