This piece, entitled "Open Land" was started as a demonstration for my Thursday night landscape students at the Art League of Long Island. I don't usually like these lay-ins as I'm forced to talk about what I'm doing and as a result not really concentrate on what I'm doing. But I'm really happy with the result! As my old friend Joey Markowski used to say, "Sometimes you have to go out to lunch upstairs" to do your best work.

Now, I'm sure that quote will need some explaining! Joey is a brilliant drummer and educator and his point is that often you will do your best work when you don't think about it too much. Just trust your instincts and let things flow. I often think of the standard shift analogy. When you first learn to drive a standard shift car (a skill that appears to be in danger of becoming extinct) you have to think "let off the gas, push in the clutch, shift, let out the clutch and step on the gas". But after you do this for a while it becomes second nature, so much so that if I tried to think about those steps now I'm sure I'd grind the gears!

This is why I've always found Joey's saying, while confusing, very appropriate. To do your best, most creative work, after you have developed the basic skills,  you sometimes need to not think about it too much and "get out of your head" or...go out to lunch upstairs!