N ature has always been a favorite source of inspiration for painters, and abstract landscapes are compelling. To create art abstracted from nature you start with something “real” and then pull it and stretch it into something new, in order to express your feelings or your interpretation. Mitchel Albala says, "There is a great misunderstanding in contemporary abstraction — that because it’s non-representational, anything goes. This could not be further from the truth. Good abstract art employs the same formal principles that great representational art does — line, form, shape, value, movement, composition, color, etc. It is the proper use of these forces that make a work of art successful. The only difference between representational painting and abstract painting is that in abstract work, the subject plays a more recessive role." The first step, then, is to choose a source of inspiration in nature that inspires a visual idea, such as color combinations (where two rivers me...