Bubbling Up is one of my first forays into abstract paintings. I used objects, such as corks and different size containers, to make the circles.

Sometimes I imprinted the object into wet paint; other times I loaded up paint on the object and used it to apply the paint. I used my trusted palette knife to partially fill some of the circles. Finally, I added some very subtle lettering (see the close ups below).

Although I’ll never give up painting landscapes, critters and flowers, I really enjoyed working 100 percent from my imagination, not having an end in mind and seeing where the painting would take me. Working abstractly definitely uses a different part of your brain and that’s a good thing–for painting or just for keeping your mind sharp and flexible.