Can you paint emotion?

Looking at Art:

The artist Edvard Munch created one of the most famous paintings of all time called “The Scream”. He rendered the figure in the painting abstractly and the sky was painted in unreal colors. I have visited the Neue Galerie many times and the art there, by German and Australian artists, includes many of Munch’s works. Have you seen reproductions of “The Scream” on post cards, t-shirts and bags? What do you think makes it so popular?

Work in the Studio:

I took a photo of an elderly man playing a harmonica because I was attracted to his craggy, elderly face. In painting his portrait I took many liberties. As the work developed, I realized that it was not his age that was the story I was telling in the painting, instead. it was his emotional engagement in the music. I think this feeling was intensified by leaving much of his head undefined. The biggest surprise about making art is finding that the piece leads me to a final image I might not have imagined. Do you feel emotion in some paintings?

Haunting Harmonica, Watercolor, 14” x 11”