🎨 The Joy of Abstract Art

Art has always played a very large part in my life. I learned to paint landscapes when I was 12 and have been drawing and sketching for as long as I can remember. I’ve enjoyed pottery making, jewelry smithing, fiber arts, and so much more that I know I’m forgetting.

These are just some of the ways that I’m able to express myself creatively. They’re also ways in which I find pure joy. In a world that’s increasingly negative and scary, that’s a wonderful thing.

The first time I visited an art museum, I fell in love. My uncle was also an art aficionado, and he decided one Saturday to take me to the Art Institute of Chicago. I learned about the lives and art processes of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso. I saw American Gothic and Nighthawks (my all-time favorite painting). I discovered the beauty of Georgia O’Keefe and felt the awe of works by Jackson Pollock. It was a truly enlightening day.

As we moved through the wings of the institute, I gravitated toward abstract pieces the most. Every time we’d come across a new painting, I’d smile and stare.

I still do that today, all these years later, and it’s for one main reason — the abstract brings me pure, unadulterated joy.

In my mind, abstract art is what you make it and make of it. It’s a canvas on which you can see what you want to. Abstract art is open to interpretation, and I love that. Perhaps no two people see an abstract piece the same way, but you know what?

That’s okay!

Abstract art is a wonderful reminder that we’re all allowed to have our own opinions and views — and that nobody else should be able to discount those opinions and views.