"…you start with what you know, but writing [painting] is a process of discovery…writing [painting] is an act of discovery. You start with a character and you learn about the character by writing [painting] about that character. And you wind up in places you never thought you were gonna go when you started out.…that's the whole reason for writing [painting]; it's for discovery. You do not know what you yourself think until you put it into words [paint].

—Garrison Keillor

Adam, 14" x 11", oil on linen

Adam is another freshman student who's been coming to open painting session and the painting club to get a head start on oil painting.

At the beginning of the session, I didn't have any idea (or didn't set any particular ideas) as to how to paint this painting. All I knew was that I didn't want to paint it the usual way. I just wanted to paint a little differently.

Noticing cool red on his face, I decided to push the temperature further with cool reds and purples.
Later I followed it with exaggerated green for his mustache and blue highlights on his hair.

I told Adam that he looks, in my painting, as though he had a few too many drinks on St. Patrick's Day.