I am Christopher John Hollins. A person who has become possessed by an idea about painting that has driven me from painting ‘traditional’ representational images to abstract ‘action’ painting. I excelled at art in school but left with no formal qualifications. As a result I have spent my working life in a variety of jobs whilst pursuing art as a pass-time. I always painted representational pictures until three years ago when I retired from work through ill health and I moved to Whitby in North Yorkshire to take in the sea air. My intention was to turn my pass-time into a full-time endeavour but little did I realise my ‘dream’ would be transformed into an obsession by my ideas about why I like to paint. I hope this blog will help those of you who love art to see it in a wider vista than painting representational pictures would allow you to know. You need an open mind and a little imagination to understand abstract ‘action’ painting but, for me, learning to paint without any recognisable image in mind has become an obsession that has led me to see the history of art in a way I never imagined possible. You will find a full easy to understand explanation of why I paint the way I do on my web site www.paintingbyinstinct.com but I hope this blog will attract lively debate. After all art is what you want it to be. Art is not about painting what other people think you should paint but about finding out what painting means to you as an individual.