When I start a new series of paintings I make thumbnail sketches in my note book. These take in to account the size and shape of the canvas - square, long, tall, thin, fat, etc and how big. I consider where I'm going to place the horizon line and the size and silhouette of the surfers. The colour palette is loosely defined by a photo I've taken or perhaps a previous painting, or an idea that's floating around in my mind.
I translate these thumbnails to canvasses and usually work on a small series - 3 or 4 paintings at the same time. I find this gives me freedom to paint in a loose style - in the hope that the images don't become overworked.
I work quickly and intuitively, building many layers over a few weeks. The paintings quickly take on a life of their own, a mixture of representation and abstraction, often only a trace of the photo, of what originally caught my eye, shows.
