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2015 April 19. Everyday, something else. OK regarding how-to-start-a painting? ... I like to do a "write-up" before I start painting. Address questions like: "What's this painting about?" "Why bother to paint it?" "What are the fascinating problems it presents?" "Do I want to 'show' the problem, or do I want to 'solve' the problem?" Also, a big one is "How to stay open to what ideas appear in the moment of painting!" Etc. ... OK, I spend about 30 minutes on this prologue-process, then I compose. I plan out the painting, what to include, what to exclude. I make my color gamut, then sketch the scene in pencil about 6 times to memorize the scene and to isolate the elements which hold interest. In sketching, develop "relationships": Light/Darks,  Warm/Cools, Mass/Detail, Positive Space/Negative Space, etc. Then on the canvas, I "area tone" the entire canvas  with a house-brush. I love a house brush, about 2". I block-in shapes with thin, transparent paint, then roughly locate elements, look for the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3rd lines, then line-in detail, sometimes with paint, sometimes with the butt end of a paint brush. Occasionally I rag out light areas. I then blast on the chromatic darks, most of the time with a palette knife. I could go on and on with "how I do it" but, my approaches are always under revision. One day I try it this way, the next day I try it that way. About 80% of the way through, the painting is dictating itself and I'm just follow up on what is suggested. I like a powerful painting. I lean toward neo-expressionism.  Knowing when to quit is key.