When I embark on a large drawing it is with the knowledge that I am going to get to know the image over a fairly long period of time — there are no shortcuts to drawing a big picture! So I need to be sure that I am really excited by the idea and believe in it completely. I don’t, however, spend too much time on the planning, preferring to work it out on the paper as I go along. This keeps the idea fresh and I can incorporate new thoughts into the drawing.