View from Monastery, January 2006
When I initially had the idea for this painting, I was worried how it would turn out,
since it is basically a light block above a dark block; a very simple image.
The painting is more about texture than it is about colour, and it required many layers
and a lot of patience before the image in my mind started to take shape.
From early on in the painting process, I found myself thinking of the word 'Monastery'.
I decided that the feelings the word evoked in me were what I was trying to portray.
Thus, what I was seeing on the canvas (the mood I was trying to capture) was the view
from the word 'Monastery' in my mind.
Many of the titles for my paintings come about in this way. Although I intended the painting to be a landscape from the start, it only became 'View from Monastery' during the painting process.