A L A N · F L E T C H E R

“It’s an intuitive process involving search, discovery, recognition and evaluation. Rejection or development. There are no specific rules or recipes. One might slip through a sequence of actions in seconds, sweat through step by step, start backwards, move randomly from one point to another, or do what surfers call “hang ten” – get your toes into the board and ride the crest of the wave.

However there are three essential conditions. The first is the capability for cerebral acrobatics so the mind can juggle the elements while freewheeling around the possibilities. The second is a mind set with the credulity of a child, the dedication of an evangelist, the spadework of a navy. And the third is sufficient motivation to kiss a lot of frogs before finding a prince. All of which adds up to just one thing. An aim to reach that condensation of sensations which – Matisse said – ‘constitutes a picture.’”