how does my visual work emerge in my mind?

I have to confess something. I think I'm an associative thinker!

I often find it hard to find the off-switch to pause my busy mind. My thoughts constantly go in all directions. Sometimes I have a thought or a feeling, sometimes I see something or meet someone, and then… my brain scans everything that comes in and starts associating.

Maybe it would give me more peace if I could sort all those thoughts into compartments. Instead, I always link everything together. That's how my strange mental meanderings arise. I associate and interpret, I observe closely and draw. Because I see connections everywhere, my work can have a surreal and/or humorous side.

This makes me wonder… maybe my visual translation of all these impressions—my art—is also a way of organizing my thoughts. What if I couldn't process these impressions into my images? They would just keep piling up in my head even more.

I really experienced this. For years, I was so busy with other things in life that I hardly had time for my art. It felt like my head was full and couldn't take anything more. I couldn't remember anything, and even the smallest bit of information made my head feel like it would explode. It's as if I first had to go through that difficult period to realize that I need this form of expression to function in life.

Lately, I enjoy working in small series, so that one piece inspires me to create another.