Last Sunday, at my group art show “From Within,” I was touched to have friends and family attend the opening reception. My sister and two nieces came up from Orange County, and other friends from the area stopped by to support me, all of whom I was so humbled to see.

As I walked around the room talking to the visitors, one friend rushed up to me and said, “Grace, see that painting of yours over there? Well, before I was close enough to see the title, the words ‘Guardian Angel’ came to mind.” She told me that at a distance, when she saw the shapes and colors in the art, and before she was close enough to see the title, she intuitively sensed angels. We were both amazed that she knew the title and she asked me to further explain this art. So I told her while painting it, I thought of how we always have guardian angels by our side, whether in the physical realm or in the Spiritual realm.

Later on in the afternoon, my youngest niece asked me to walk around the room with her and explain why I painted each piece. When we stopped at this painting, titled “Garden of His Truth,” I said that my inspiration was an old black and white photo of my father, older sister (her mother) and me, stooping down by his garden holding his homegrown lettuce. I explained to her that in this painting, I saw my father’s truth as separate from mine, and that even though our truth was different and came from our own points of view, that was okay. Painting this piece helped me see the Spiritual side of our relationship where I can acknowledge my feelings, release them, and then allow peace to fill this space.

This is the power of abstract art. It reaches an unconscious place in our soul that mere words can not always reach. There is something so vast and powerful in a visual expression that has no recognizable objects. Feelings, concepts, and thoughts are intuitively understood especially when those feelings are difficult to put into words. Somehow our mind, emotions, and Spirit understands so much more through brush strokes and colors than mere words can express. And that is why it is so refreshing to use abstract, non-representational images in art. Our mind can grasp the meaning beyond our conscious thoughts and these visuals, often misunderstood by the masses, reaches our unconscious, where all underlying feelings exist. This abstract expressionist art quickly touches the energy in our Spirit and connects us to a Source of all things good. And this type of art is something all of us can do.