One of my favorite themes, in any creative form, is solitude. As a fairly solitary person by nature, this makes some logical sense, but it is a universally accessible theme, I think: everyone can relate to a moment of staring out a window, lost in thought. Some of my favorite pieces speak in some way to solitude and inner dialogue, and the quiet honesty and gorgeous melancholy that comes with it.

It will not surprise you then, I suppose, to learn that Edward Hopper is one of my favorite painters. His subjects are almost always solitary (whether there is someone next to them or not), preoccupied by thoughts completely removed from their present surroundings: they’re there but not there, not really. Which produces the burning question that makes it all so intriguing: where, then, are they?

I have three Hoppers for you today; three characters lost in thought. But before you go, I also have this quote that I stumbled across in a place I’ve since forgotten, attributed to Hopper: “If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” Paint worked quite beautifully for him. But, dear writers, I do believe you should take that as a challenge.

Edward Hopper, New York Movie, 1939. Oil on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Edward Hopper, Hotel by a Railroad, 1952. Oil on canvas. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.

Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927. Oil on canvas. Des Moines Art Center, Iowa.

P.S. Open Mic submissions have started! Submit your work-in-progress today and tomorrow, and they’ll go up for feedback on Wednesday.