Yesterday, as I thought about the “abstract” painting I just finished, I thought that it would be cool to paint something similar, but use the colors of sunrise/sunset – pink, orange, purple. I would love to blend them together in the background, the way they blend in the sky. I couldn’t wait to take pictures at sunrise, to use for reference. And, I was excited to paint another tree, to use the techniques I just developed.

It’s funny, how a project can start us on a path. A path similar to the branches of a tree. The path may be fairly straight – projects similar to one another. Or the path may be twisty – each project taking a unique turn. The path can be long – each project sparking the idea for the next one. Or the path may be short – as we experiment with something that doesn’t work out or fails to inspire us any longer.

We follow a path until it ends. Until we have reached the end of that train of thought. At that point, we forge a new path, based on something different that inspires us. But each path we take, is related to the others, just like the branches of a tree.