It's so great to start work again. My agent has asked for two small works (30cm x 30cm) and I thought that, for the first time, I'd run through the stages that create a piece. This is the gesso stage. I use paper to build the surface and, as you can see, all the work is done on the table in my bay window.
Before this stage, I spent a while staring into space, imagining each image. I don't begin work until I know what I'm creating. It may not stay that way but without a clear starting point, I find a painting has no firm direction and often fails.