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Story: I was sitting in my studio one day during grad school, complaining to a friend that I didn't know what to paint. For the previous two years I had tried several different directions only to lose interest and start something new.

As I complained to my friend I realized that the most frustrating part of my block was that I knew exactly what I didn't want to paint - paintings that I could actually see in my mind in great detail.

This friend, who always gives good advice, suggested that I make the paintings I didn't want to make. It immediately felt like the right thing to do and the idea lead to an important mental breakthrough.

The paintings started as a list of all the things I had decided over the years that I would never paint. It was a list comprised mostly of painting cliche's and the imagery found in the how-to-paint books I was given as a kid.

What is perhaps most surprising to me about this series is that I really enjoyed painting them and I feel happy looking at them.

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