My creative process below is essential in being able to create art; however, I utilize it for many creative interests (music, cooking, writing, etc.). It is like a system of how I approach things. Being an artist, I approach them creatively from concept to completion and all the phases in between.

Concept
Thumbnails
Roughs
Color
Implementation
Completion
Frustration

Concept
In order to begin with a concept, I need an inspiration. Something inspires me at random times. It can be a song, an emotion, a person, shapes, textures or sometimes I am uncertain of what it is. But I then inevitably get a strong desire to begin sketching thumbnails in order not to lose the idea. Sometimes I am inspired from dreams. What can be annoying is that I get lost inside my imagination, and find it hard to focus on more relevant things.

Thumbnails
The thumbnail sketches are quick, and it can be multiple thumbnail sketches that contribute to a completed painting. These are usually done on napkins, sticky notes, paper plates or even the palm of my hand if I do not have a sketch pad or paper available.

Roughs
The rough sketches are developed from the thumbnails, and they are more complex. This is when the subject matter generally falls into place, where size, space, shadows, textures and perspective issues are addressed.

Color
I dream in vivid color, and color selection generally comes easily to me. I like my paintings to be bright, bold and with an explosion of color. However, sometimes I like to paint monochromatically or in black and white. I use color aid paper as a tool, and I will refine the rough sketches by adding color with either colored pencils or pastels to create more advanced roughs (almost comps) if needed.

Implementation
I utilize a grid mentality, breaking the canvas into sections of how the painting will lay. I then sketch it, mapping it out on the canvas before applying the paint. This is the same concept as painting by numbers, but the numbers are the areas of my painting that came from within myself.

Completion
Is it ever finished? Completion of a painting can happen either very quickly or it can take months. Sometimes it is as if the brush in my hand has a mind of its own, and the paint flows freely and quickly onto the canvas. Other times, paintings are created in sections, with some of the sections being completed quickly and more easily than others.

Frustration
This is a part of the creative process that I feel all artists suffer with from time to time. Sometimes there is a need to walk away from the easel. It is frustrating when the colors do not mix or lay right on the canvas. Also, what is portrayed from within (emotional aspect) is not coming across in the painting. Areas must be touched up and tweaked repeatedly. Sometimes I just gesso over the whole canvas and begin again. However, once it is finally completed, an incredible rush comes over me and I exclaim “THAT’S IT!!!” Now it is time to begin my creative process all over again.