It nearly always starts with something seen which evokes a strong feeling or an idea.  And the purpose of the painting is to find a visual equivalent for the feeling or an expression of the idea- and to share it.  That’s key – that’s the motivation – to share it, because the ultimate goal is to try to create images which have as strong an impact as poetry or music.

In my experience both those art forms have the capacity to stir a strong almost visceral emotion – a sort of gasp of recognition of what the poet or composer was feeling – and wanted you to feel as well.  So the form the paintings take can swing like a pendulum between the ultra-figurative and the abstract.  Sometimes the urge to make an image comes straight from the emotion, not linked specifically to anything seen, but the ultimate goal remains the same.