Sometimes less is more, and that was my thought about all the pink/ alizarin crimson/ cadmium tones in this painting, "The Willing Suspension of Disbelief". The background was taking over the foreground, and I wanted more depth. The people and the narrative in my paintings should be the primary focus. Today I took a deep breath, a big brush, a glaze I created to cool down the background and started working. Glazes are tricky, you really have to complete them in one day's pass or the edges - where you start and finish - will show.

Most of my work is intensely colored. I want this painting to be softer, a little more muted. But I also like the way the light and shadow plays sharply on the foreground figures. I'll let it dry for a couple of weeks, then bring it in to Michelson galleries' big tables to get it on the big stretcher I ordered. Then it will be on display in the gallery for a while before I take it back to my studio to finish painting it.