"It's eleven am on a recent Tuesday morning and I'm about to interview local artist Bud Cook about his new body of work, Tribe: Portraits of a Community, a collection of twelve acrylic paintings and assorted sketches currently at the Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam, Connecticut.

The paintings are portraits of those who have inspired him. Some he knows very well, teachers and artist friends and a couple are professional acquaintances whose work he admires.

The show itself is not the only reason I'm here. I want to learn about Bud's painting process, maybe shed light on the creative spark that fascinates me. What is that thing that happens when an artist decides to make a creative decision and it changes the course of the work? We met at an artist's group last year and while I decided to pursue writing, Bud is pursuing painting. We are in the gallery, in the middle of the room with October light creeping up the walls....."