I believe that every piece of art, regardless of the subject matter is in essence a self-portrait. Each stroke, each movement of the hand, even the techniques and methods used reflect the artist's mood, attitude, and emotion. Indeed, an artist's work can reveal an inner struggle. The struggle is one of reconciliation with what is real and what is not.
It is my contention that hand created artistic pieces are not supposed to be an exact replication of the natural world. Rather, they are a representation of reaction to the natural world. Therefore, artistic expression can be completely psychotic to the viewer, but an accurate picture of who and what the artist is.
