One of the things I never understood was abstract art. Why would people pay a fortune for a painting that did not look like anything? Why would an artist waste their time throwing paint on a canvas and never end up with a recognizable image, and why do the critics rave about some of these pieces?

I have tried to paint abstract. The only guidance I ever got was to follow my instincts. Out of hundreds of paintings I have only five or six abstracts with the two above being examples of the 'geometric abstracts'. (Accidental successes as I truly did not understand what I was doing.) Well, I have started reading about abstract art to try to figure out what it means.

The dime has finally dropped! It is not about shapes or recognizable images. It is all about color; just allowing color to take form... or not. It is about using color, not shapes or images to convey feelings, moods and impressions. Sometimes recognizable shapes appear as part of that process, but often not. It has made me take a fresh look at art, and now other things I never "got" make more sense too. Like jondudes art- always knew I loved it even though i did not understand what he was doing. Now comes the real test - can I successfully apply what I learned and merge it with my personal styles and preferences?