Where the Next Painting Begins

Before I start a new painting, there’s always a phase where nothing looks like progress.

I’m not sketching yet, and I’m not making decisions. Instead, I’m watching the small patterns that show up in everyday life with cats — the habits, the expressions, the strange little rituals that somehow repeat themselves.

One of my cats recently decided that my water glass is the superior source of hydration. Her own bowl sits nearby, freshly filled, but apparently the water I’m drinking from is clearly the better option.

Moments like that are usually where a painting begins for me. Not with a big idea, but with something ordinary that keeps happening until it feels worth capturing.

Right now, I’m in that stage of noticing. Letting things repeat themselves long enough to see what stands out.

Eventually something will become the next painting.

Until then, the cats and I are doing research.

Meow for now,

Jeffrey