I usually stay away from themes, the stories in my paintings are not consistent from one painting to another, except that I normally say I am complete with a painting once I recognize the people who are in the painting.
I don’t really know them, but they look to me like people who I would know.
It’s the faces that inspire me. I imagine the conversation that they are about to have, what concerns them and have they figured out the answer yet.
I’ve often heard writers talk about the dreams they have for the characters they’ve created for their novels.