I painted this piece in March of 2010.  I knew I wanted add lots of color to the face and hands but, otherwise had no real direction to this painting.  Somehow, all of the paintings I had done before had prepared me to paint this one.  There was magic in the air as i simultaneously painted this and watched season 6 of "24" on dvd.  This painting just seemed to paint itself, and all the while I had this rare feeling that this was the exact thing I should be doing at that moment and in the exact place.  Every now and then when I'm doing something creative I get that feeling, and it's beautiful.  The great thing about this piece was that it sent me in a new direction with my work and it's not something I was methodical about doing, which, I am inclined to do. When I was done, I was amazed.  Like I was seeing it for the first time.  It was similar to the feeling I have when appreciating other artists' amazing work for the first time.  The trumpet was supposed to be gold.  The green was just supposed to be just quietly underneath.  But, I got to a point where I knew it was done, and the trumpet had to be green. Have you ever felt that type of spiritual connection with your creativity?