You might be surprised by the results of the brief visual quiz below. (Click on the framed question mark to open it in a new window.)
The image at left is one of my first abstract paintings. I place it here as an example, not for how it appears, but for how it was created. When I began to work on this piece, I had no preconceived idea of what it would become. It was purely an act of discovery. It was created using a squeegee, pulling layer upon layer of color, in this case acrylic paint, not knowing what might happen. I discovered that the most difficult part was in knowing when to stop! To be honest, there were at least two moments during this process, when I wish I had stopped, when the piece appealed more to me than this final product.
Another revelation was trying to title a piece of abstract art. It seems so contradictory to give something which is not a thing a name. I titled this one "Flag I" because it looks a little like a flag, and added the numerical determiner because I had two more canvases the same size and figured I would make a couple more in a similar style.
I am reminded by a saying of Picasso: "There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."
It wasn't until I searched through my photos that I realized how many abstract pieces I have made. I will close today with a slideshow of some of them.