Whether working with words, ideas or images, I am fundamentally a puzzle-solver.
Typically my process moves from making a big-picture assessment of the subject to comprehending its underlying patterns and compositional elements.  What I find unique to creating images, however, is the benefit of suppressing my determination to fully understand some of the details and simply replicate what I see.  Concentrating solely on my sense of sight, without letting thought interfere, not only puts me in a meditative state but also results in a truer representation.