I was going over some photos I took in the studio and noticed one painting that has been on the wall a long time in a number of forms but is now almost done.  The painting recently had one face taken out and another put in that was based on one layer of a computer drawing. I thought I would take this opportunity to show how an image moves through my work.  

I began with a large color drawing based on a webshots photo. At that time I was looking for images with blank expressions in rooms full of stuff.  I liked this one and played with it a number of times. After finishing the color image, I worked up one that took everything out but the blank look that accentuated the lost feeling. I printed out the simple version to use in the studio but it did not really jell into anything.  The painting took shape as a face of another lost expression with the odd combination of a paper hat.  I never considered it done because the balance of the face to the background was never settled.  After months I just painted out the face on the original painting in order to start over. It was at that moment I ran into the old computer drawing and the current image took form.  Sometimes this cycle goes the other direction when photos of paintings are used to complete computer drawings that are stuck.  It is odd how the new painting reminds me of a friend from art school. The working title of this one is now Lost and Found but could become The Foundling.