I am an artist (as well as writer) who paints abstract images in acrylic and oil paints on canvas and on masonite. I also do portraits on commission. I feel that paint is a soulful substance that can negate the passage of time. To see a Van Gogh painting in person, especially up close, is to directly connect with Van Gogh himself, a living breathing human being, alive and thriving within the swirling thicknesses of paint. It's true.