This is very interesting...I have been reading two books the last few months that touch on just this subject..."The Spiritual in Twentieth-Century Art" by Roger Lipsey and "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" by Wassily Kandinsky.

Kandinsky speaks of the "inner need" of the artist. Very interesting as he touches on why we create, and particulary why we create art. He draws strong parallels between art and music. One line that I found particularly interesting was "It is the conviction that nothing mysterious can ever happen in our everyday life that has destroyed the joy of abstract thought." Cool, no?

Lipsey's book looks at the writings and philosophies of this century's modern artists...from Mondrian to Klee to Picasso and may, many others. They all express the idea that they are just "conduits"...creative wonders passing through them to the canvas.

If fact, Klee is quoted: "Everything vanishes around me, and works are born as if out of the void. Ripe, graphic fruits fall off. My hand has become the obedient instrument of a remote will."

Can you identify with that, Rykk? I know I can...

FWI...you can read Kandinsy's book online:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/cnspr10.txt

And Lipsey's book is at Amazon...

G