For years I had been telling my sister & best friend, Ellen, that I planned to start painting again – I bought supplies and had a gazillion ideas. Ellen – a spectacular artist herself –encouraged me. I still didn't start.

Other stuff kept getting in the way and… maybe I am a bit of a procrastinating-perfectionist-person? She tried pushing me: “When are you going to start?!” Then one day, she ordered me to “JUST START!!!”! I’m pretty sure there was also a strong expletive between those words.

OK, OK!! I’m going to be an abstract painter. Inspiration strikes. I’ll START my first painting with those words. It didn’t come naturally. I fumbled. I hated it. Gave up and shoved into a corner. Moved on and found my comfort zone with modern realism.

Fast forward almost 2 years, I ran across the “START” attempt buried in a corner of my studio and brought it out from detention. Hmmm, maybe I could fool around with it for a little while? Inspiration strikes again!

It was really fun and I’m kind of happy with it. I’ll definitely experiment with creating more like it. Stay tuned!
Thanks El!

Mixed media on canvas. 16”x 20”
Scroll to see detail images.

Check out Ellen’s work: https://www.instagram.com/e.m.rittenhouse_art

www.ellenrittenhouse.com