A lot of my work is inspired by architecture, either medieval Gothic (think Sainte-Chapelle, and later, Tres Riches Heures), or by the cast iron buildings of SoHo. This particular work was of an imagined cast iron building on a 23” X 29” sheet of bristol which is large-scale for me (my Gothic works are much smaller, 3-dimensional, polychromatic). Having penciled in the fenestration, I was well on my way, drawing and detailing the widows with my favored Niji Stylist markers. It’s mindless and almost meditative, but each window completed is so much fun. I’ll be up until 3 or 4, one intricate black line after another. Lately the playlist has been Gino Vanelli’s ‘A Pauper in Paradise’ from so far ago in ‘77 and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. I’ll loop those for a while and then switch to Ambience Groove radio. The hours pass and often I’m not alone, a Maine Coon sleeping away on the shelf above my desk. I’m smart enough to usually hang the work-in-progress away from harm but sometimes when it’s 4:30 and I realize I have to get up in 4 hours, I forget. So it was on departing for the recent trip to Saugerties, the newest work with 5 windows (of 12) completed sat exposed on the desk. It is nature’s law, that when a work-in-progress, bright, white and clean is left out- a Maine Coon will come-a-callin’ and puke a hairball on the perfect ‘you-couldn’t-have-picked-a-worse-space’ space. It is not salvageable but I really like most of what was going on in the piece so the next one will be pretty similar. These are always black and white but I’ve always wondered if panes filled with Dr. Martin’s watercolor dyes might work- will it cross to kitsch? Straight up, not diluted. I worked with them back in school, at Pratt- the color was intense and I would get some great windows reflecting sunset. A least now I have some spare widows to play with.