New friend Painting

I've been creating art in some form since early childhood. My current work has evolved from a representational depiction of subject matter, to an exploration of color and space and how that creates an emotion. The goal is not to reproduce an exact likeness of my subjects. I use clean, vivid colors, with a palette knife or brush to engage the viewer and move the eye around the canvas. My work is less concerned with being able to identify the subject matter and more concerned with using color, light and positive/negative space to connect with my subject and hopefully stir something in the viewer. My hope is that whoever is looking at my work is carried along on the same wave of emotion that initially drove me to create the piece.