When I allow initial paint strokes to show themselves until an idea emerges, it's not an oscillation between intention and recognition.  It's just a starting framework for a painting.  Several options may present themselves before I choose one, due to what I believe possesses personal integrity, and what I truly think might look totally ridiculous. Just because I wait for something to strike me visually doesn't mean that it doesn't have to have my approval of what I will accept to work with.  Ultimately, what goes down on the painting comes from my hands, my decisions, and my final approval. Finding an inspirational area within the initial strokes of pigment to start painting is simply that... a starting point. Metaphysics can only travel so far in my studio.

Harry T. Burleigh was initially inspired to sketch as a youngster when he saw the uniqueness in the designs on record album covers. Several years later, he attended his first art class as a junior in high school, where his teacher saw that he had a developing talent and encouraged him keep sharpening his skills. Many of these skills he sharpened in the margins of his notebooks during chemistry class.