Making an album is hard work, and it takes its toll both mentally and physically. The weird sleep schedule and bizarre alternate reality of living in a demanding creative space gives me little time or energy to find ways to vent or relax. You would think that the way to vacate from the creative world would be with some healthy vegging out or finding that Buddist sense of “nothingness,” and I’m sure it is, but if I’m not being productive (even in my off-hours) it just feels like I’m treading water.

So for me, the best way to recuperate from creativity is creativity. A different form of art can offer refuge from the other. And there are so many forms… I take refuge in painting. I’m not a painter by trade, nor would I ever claim to be, but I feel a sense of honesty and release in this specific art form that I can’t find in anything else. I have no technique and rarely have a thought-out plan, but I improvise along the way… finding ways to compliment lucky mistakes or moving towards a central theme as it forms over the course of the process.

So before I head back into the lab, I wanted to share my painting with you, “Please, come in.”