Larry Groff interviews painter Christopher Gallego about his work and process.

Gallego remarks: "The game of painting is played on two levels. First there is the artist, making decisions, solving problems, doing the actual work. Then there is the other self that watches the artist at work, monitoring one’s own thoughts and emotions… I’ll pick up the energy any way I can, sometimes by deliberately making a mistake. That usually gets me going. I’m always trying to stay in that sweet spot of being patient but having a slight edge. If I’ve grasped something visually, I can get back anything I’ve lost; if I can’t get it back; then I never had it to begin with. Knowing this brings me a contentment or rather a trust in the process, and the end result is a look that is fresher and more elegant than would be achieved by trying to force things."