We face the empty canvas - Michael favors a thematic approach - Ricia is more intuitive. The point is to begin. Michael paints the outline of a still life, Ricia partially blocks it out, Michael takes a cue from a line or a shape and fills it in with color, Ricia applies a texture, and so on. A roadblock occurs. To break through, one device might consist of turning the canvas 90 degrees. In fact, the piece is turned frequently to obtain a fresh vision. Another method is subtraction, in which we remove wet paint with a sponge or whatever is handy revealing textures and forms underneath. Or we might paint large areas of color to simplify the design.
