In preparing works for a one-man show, I was pressuring myself to have every painting be about a "grand theme" and I was searching around for a subject. I was feeling almost as stressed as if I had a deadline for an illustration project. This didn't make any sense and I finally had to stop and realize that it was OK to give myself the freedom to just paint something beautiful. If I just relax and trust the process, the themes emerge and the art takes care of itself.