My previous painting was a boy and a girl in a rowboat, heading out to sea. I liked the nautical idea and decided I would paint a large, wooden ship. Then I decided that rather than having the ship sail the seas, it would sail the clouds. So I looked for reference - for both clouds and ships. The clouds were easy. The ship was not. I had a specific ship in mind - though I didn't know what it was, I just knew I would know it when I saw it. Then I saw it - it was a painting of the USS Constellation. (How prophetic for a painting of a ship sailing the skies!) I do not know the artist or I would name him or her because their ship inspired mine. It is not identical. In fact, it's not as good as the original. That's not what I was out to do. I wanted this ship to be sailing the skies. I wanted the panting of the ship to be startling, but not because of its detail, but rather because of the setting it was in. I have never seen a painting quite like this one. I like that. Because that's what I set out to do with every painting I create.