Most of the ideas I have when commencing a painting soon flee. I make some marks, any marks, any colour, then proceed to paint over them, usually many times. This can go on for for weeks through which time I am lost.
Eventually, the frustration of getting nowhere gives way to abandonment and, like a Rorschach blotch, something will appear through the layers of paint. I follow this. The image will appear like a ghost on the canvas.
Mark Rothko and Pierre Bonnard are, with their saturated colours, among many others, have been strong influences.