In Origin of Painting, I trace the shadow of my lover, recreating Dibutade’s original tracing. The shadow is cast by fire and flood light. A narrative of the story, written by Tammy Bohn, is read. As soon as the narrative is completed and the first shadow traced, I turn to make my own shadow. An audience member comes up and traces me and the music starts. As soon as my shadow is traced, another audience member comes up and traces that shadow and so forth. All the shadows are connected to each other, often by the hands. After each shadow is traced and the wall is filled, the shadows of any children present are traced between the other shadows. The audience is then invited to come up and turn the traced shadows into a mural. During this transition, the music changes to a louder and faster tempo and the lights are brought up. Origin of Painting is done in sidewalk chalk so that the mural will gradually disappear over time. 

For a memorial version of Origin of Painting, a poster board cut­out of the person being honored is traced as the first shadow. The narrative is altered slightly to honor that person. After the performance is over and the mural completed, the poster board cut­out is removed, creating an empty space to symbolize the person's absence.

The materials for Origin of Painting are simple: a wall of concrete, stone or brick with a relatively smooth surface; a fire pit; a flood light; and two kinds of sidewalk chalk: a higher saturated one for the traced shadows and one of lower intensity to fill in the mural. Origin of Painting has been performed in all weather, including slight drizzle and in freezing temperatures, with snow on the ground, and in all seasons. The narrative has been read in Spanish and English. The musician(s) and narrator that accompany Origin of Painting are drawn from the local community.