A couple of days ago I had an interesting realization.

And it went like this:

‘People don’t create abstract art.’

They don’t.

I mentioned this to an artist who’s a client, and she was puzzled by it.

She creates abstract paintings.

So I explained.

People express themselves in ways that we might CALL abstract art.

But that’s not the goal of the process.

It’s merely a label, a made-up categorization like we always do.

Art is ultimately about creation.

It’s about personal, inspired, boundless expression.

It’s life being endlessly flexible and flowing, fascinating and touching, weird and wonderful.

And it doesn’t really matter whether we can put it in a box or not.

The box is unimportant (unless it’s a real box, used by an artist).

This reminded me of some other things I saw not too long ago.

Because we have the tendency to make the steps of the process and the build-up and the materials far too important, if you ask me.

Technique is merely a way to get to a result, but the result is never really about technique, or the sum of techniques.

It can definitely help translate the natural, raw expression and ideas that arise out of nowhere into something tangible, and it can give the artist more tricks to make it work.

But it shouldn’t be regarded as the most important element.

This also goes for coaching or spiritual philosophies like Buddhism, to name just a few things.

You can get really good at something in a technical sense or well-equipped on an intellectual level, but that is never really the point.

Buddhism is not about becoming a really good Buddhist.

Coaching is not about being nothing but a technical virtuoso with a million well-rehearsed questions.

Technique becomes most interesting, in most cases, when it’s somehow left behind, mostly invisible and completely transcended.

It makes sense to regard a photorealistic painting as technically superior to an abstract canvas with some white paint and a bottle cap in the center.

But is it, really?

And it’s not even the point.

What seems the most elemental and most exciting thing to me, is expression itself.

Who cares what that’s called?

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(Photo by @socialcut, for Unsplash)