In It Together — A Look Inside the Making of the Painting

Every now and then, I get the chance to film my dad while he’s working — not posed, not planned, just him in his natural rhythm at the table. The video below captures him in the middle of creating In It Together, and it’s one of my favorite glimpses into how he thinks with his hands.

What always strikes me when I watch him work is how unforced it is. He doesn’t hesitate or talk himself out of decisions — he just moves. Color down, mark here, scrape, adjust, soften, push something forward, let something else dissolve. He trusts the painting long before he knows where it’s going, and that trust is what gives pieces like this their pulse.

You can actually see that moment in the video — the shift where the loose marks start finding each other, the composition begins to cohere, and the figures emerge almost on their own. It’s the part of his process that feels closest to watching someone think.

For anyone who enjoys seeing the “inside” of how a painting becomes itself, this little mid-process capture says more than I ever could. It’s a reminder that even after a lifetime of making art, he approaches each piece with the same curiosity and openness he had as a kid.

Here’s the video — hope you enjoy watching him work as much as I do.

— Todd