Do you consider yourself a patient person?

I’m not as patient as I used to be. Ask anyone who’s been in a car with me, or watched me wait for a delayed flight, or tried to explain something to me that could have been an email.

But in the studio? Infinite patience. And I’ve been trying to figure out why.

I have paintings sitting right now that aren’t finished. They look incomplete to me. And a little boring. Something is missing, and I don’t know what it is yet. And I’m completely fine with that.

Not because I’ve given up on them. Because I know the difference between a painting that isn’t done and a painter who isn’t enough.

Those two things sound similar. They’re not.

When I look at an unfinished piece, I don’t think, “I didn’t do enough.” I think, “it needs something. I just don’t know what yet.” So I sleep on it. And if I still don’t know, I sleep on it again. I wait until something sparks. A conversation, something I see, a random Sunday afternoon at a gallery.

The answer always comes. And I never force it.

I think that kind of patience is golden, the kind that trusts the thing you’re making, not just yourself.

What are you sitting with right now that just needs a little more time?

(Here’s another sneak peek at a new unfinished piece)