Several years ago I did a series of paintings for a gallery show in Florida. Several were subsequently picked by American Illustration and can be seen on the website there. Another wound up on the cover of my book. (See right. Available wherever books are sold. The perfect gift.) But what do they mean? You tell me. That is the gist of fine art, I guess. It gives us something to figure out while it's hung on our walls for years. I paint the dots first and then paint iconography on the dots, freehand, no sketches, no penciling. So the result is entirely improvised, free associated, a fresh invention.