Inspiration.

One of the reasons I love checking out exhibits like last week's Abstract Expressionists is the fact that I've always been impressed with how a few simple lines on a page can have such emotional power.

It takes great skill to create a feeling or evoke some deeper meaning with just a well placed mark or two.

Robert Motherwell (an abstract expressionist himself) said "art is a feeling, not an object." That certainly applies to a lot of great work out there.

Kline's "Chief," for instance, consists of several bold black lines on a white surface, looks like a giant bug, is named after a locomotive the artist saw as a child, and evokes the feeling of inexorability.

I guess that's why artists have such power to inspire with their work. 

The simpler a line drawing or a sketch or an illustration is, the more I'm impressed by its effect. 

Ah, sometimes it's the small things that make you appreciate the big ideas.