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When I start a painting, typically it’s with no preconceived ideas. I just start making marks, and see where that takes me.

(FYI, this is not my “native” way of working. Well, perhaps it was when I was 4, but as an adult, my work has mostly been very meticulously designed and executed, with the goal of manifesting a Platonic Ideal on the paper or canvas. Working improvisationally is my antidote to the perfectionist paralysis that my previous way of working had me trapped in!)

After I shared this image on Instagram, I asked people for title suggestions, and it was really amusing to discover what people saw in it.

A lot of people saw a hand-waving clown or a funny face. My favorite interpretation, though, was from Alison, who saw a little child in a onesy, crawling off the frame, leaving a trail of… ??? in her or his wake.

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One of my most memorable trips was back in 2003, when I went on a spiritual adventure to Hawaii. I’m not much of a swimmer (and I’m terrified of being near sharks!), but I got to snorkel just about every day, in the company of fish of all sorts, and many schools of wild dolphins.

The most magical part, though, was probably the night swim with manta rays. Divers attach lights to the bottom of a particular bay, which attracts plankton. If you’re lucky, the mantas then come to feed on the plankton.

We were lucky. 5 or 6 mantas (it’s hard to keep track in the dark waters!) performed a ballet just under my nose, doing belly rolls to scoop dinner into their maws.

It left me speechless.

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There’s a parade in my home town on the weekend closest to May 1st every year. It’s called the May Fete Parade, and it goes down the main shopping street, and I don’t remember where else.

The fire department comes out. People dress up their pets. And when I was really little, there was always a bevy of kids on their tricycles and Big Wheels.

It was the highlight of my year when I was four. I remember the thrill of pedaling my red trike past the pressing crowd.

My first performance, I guess.