Since my job at this time was basically manual labor, my art was a true escape every evening. I was doing a lot of freelance, but also a lot of just-for-fun projects (I was heavily into digital art and comic drawing at the time).
 
"Undersea Wildlife" was the very first loose abstract painting I did; it was a way to give myself permission to play, to try something completely different, and get out of my head. I call this style 'meditative abstracts', since I would just follow the underlying brushstrokes in a sort of zen headspace, without planning, just letting the colors take me wherever they wanted. I was, however, very consciously choosing my colors for the feeling that I wanted, even then!

This acrylic painting is 18x24", unframed. It is already wired and ready to hang.