What Abstract Expressionism means to me
Rod Schneider

May 29, 2004


To me, the main thrust of Abstract Expressionism is to further the belief that art doesn’t really 
have to be a “picture” of anything. Art does not require a recognizable object to be art. 

Any painting, regardless of the subject, will evoke different responses depending on the viewer. 
In landscape and still life painting, and especially in portraiture, the burden is on the artist 
to convey his message to the viewer.  Conversely, an Abstract Expression (my version) shifts to
the viewer the ability to define a meaning to the work. It can mean anything the viewer desires.

For example, I’m currently completing a landscape called “Fall Road”. Now, it really doesn’t take
a Nostredamus to figure out what that painting is about. On the other hand, I recently competed
an Abstract Expression called “Blue Blazes”.  Every one of you now has a different idea of what 
that painting looks like.

My Abstract Expressions are intended to evoke a response in the viewer. Whether the response is
joy, anger, confusion, or projectile vomiting, is completely up to the viewer.
As long as I get a response, the painting has served its purpose.

I don’t usually do any advance planning for my Abstract Expressions. I simply step up to a blank 
canvas and start painting whatever comes to mind. Why the brush goes where it does, and why I 
choose a particular color, I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t want to know. I just let it happen.  
Sometimes I do shapes, sometimes I do color fields, and sometimes, I just do random brush strokes.
Whatever seems like the thing to do at the time.

What exactly does an Abstract Expression express?  Beats me. I’d like to think it’s some sort of 
“joie de vie”, but I don’t really know. That’s another one that I really don’t want to know.  
I promise you though; I’m stone cold sober every time I paint one. 

The famous Abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollack (my favorite), Mark Rothko,
Joan Mitchell (another fav) and Willem De Kooning, tended to work on very large canvases. 
I don’t.  Why not?

First, I want the viewer to be able to see the entire painting without moving.
Second, my work tends to appeal mainly to younger, working people, who simply don’t have 
the money to buy a huge painting, much less anywhere to hang one. Since most of my work is sold on 
the net, I ship paintings all over the world, and shipping a large painting, larger say than 24 X 36 
gets really expensive and difficult. Particularly since I will NOT take a canvas off its stretchers 
and ship it rolled up like so much newspaper. If you don’t respect your work, no one else will either.

That being said however, (shameless commercial plug coming up folks!> if you’ve got the dough to pay for it,
and the mozuma to ship it, I’ll paint you a canvas any size you want.

So, there you have what Abstract Expressionism means to me. I paint Abstract Expressions because I like to. 
They seem to satisfy some bizarre need within me, and I seem to be rather good at it. 

It’s my great hope that you will find some pleasure within my paintings, that’s why I do it.