Reflections On Paintings
Exploring Inspiration, Process, and the Artists Who Shape My Vision
“I create to shift how we see and feel through abstraction—opening space for reflection, connection, and quiet transformation. Change begins not with certainty, but with listening.” - Ritu Raj | Abstract Artist
Abstractions of Self is a living journal of my painting practice—where each post unravels the hidden layers behind a single work. These reflections explore how abstraction emerges not just from paint and gesture, but from memory, mood, and the invisible threads of influence. Here, I share the intuitive process that unfolds on the canvas, and connect each piece to the broader world of contemporary abstract art—honoring the artists, ideas, and philosophies that inspire and shape my creative journey. This is a space to look beneath the surface, to understand what cannot be explained in the work alone, and to discover how each painting becomes both a question and an answer.
Sense of Reality: Organic Movement and Perceptual Space in Abstraction
Abstract painting Sense of Reality featuring circular organic brushstrokes in blue and yellow exploring perception and movement
Wound That Thinks
Abstract painting titled Wound That Thinks featuring organic red textures against a blue field exploring movement and consciousness
Self Remembering Itself
Abstract oil painting titled Self Remembering Itself featuring swirling blue, red, and white organic forms in circular motion on a 3x3 ft canvas.
Interior Mass
Interior Mass is a 3x3 ft abstract painting exploring organic movement, texture, and inner form through layered gesture and deep blue space.
Gravity of Attention
Abstract painting titled Gravity of Attention featuring a luminous yellow form with organic movement against a textured blue and orange background, oil on canvas.
Passage Into Presence
Continuity of Feeling is a3x3 ft abstract painting exploring organic movement, emotional flow, and layered gesture through color and texture.
Continuity of Feeling
Continuity of Feeling is a3x3 ft abstract painting exploring organic movement, emotional flow, and layered gesture through color and texture.
Architecture of Meaning
Architecture of Meaning, 6×6 ft abstract painting by Ritu Raj, featuring organic circular movement across a nine-panel grid in layered red, white, and blue tones.
Silent Orbit
In Silent Orbit, energy circles back into calm. Motion becomes stillness, and silence reveals its own sound — the quiet pulse of presence.
String Wave
In String Wave, motion becomes form. The string leaves behind a memory of flow — a rhythm where energy and silence converge.
Algorithm of Reflection
In Algorithm of Reflection, motion and stillness meet. Structure becomes mirror, and color turns contemplative — a quiet dialogue between energy and understanding.
Algorithm of Fire
In Algorithm of Fire, color becomes combustion — yellow and blue rising from a field of magenta heat. Structure meets energy, and integrity becomes transformation.
Algorithm of Water
In Algorithm of Water, structure becomes fluid and integrity takes the shape of flow. The painting reveals a balance between movement and stillness — where coherence is not fixed but alive.
Algorithm of Air
In Algorithm of Air, structure becomes movement — a geometry carried by breath. Logic dissolves into atmosphere, and integrity takes the shape of wind.
Algorithm in Red Light
In Algorithm in Red Light, structure and emotion ignite. A vertical red form stands against dark motion, transforming logic into light and precision into feeling.
Emergent Algorithm in Green
In Emergent Algorithm in Green, structure and motion intertwine. Geometry meets gesture, and order finds renewal through flow — a meditation on integrity as a living system.
Silent Algorithm in Magenta
In Silent Algorithm in Magenta, structure and emotion coexist in quiet tension. Logic breathes through color, and abstraction becomes the language of integrity — both rule and revelation.
Emerald Pulse: A Dialogue Between Geometric Calm and Abstract Energy
Emerald Pulse stands at the intersection of balance and disruption: a vivid green block anchors the canvas while sweeping lilac and crimson gestures surge around it. The painting recalls the meditative geometries of Rothko and the layered dynamism of Bradford, offering a conversation between stability and motion.
Orbit of Blue: Abstract Geometry in Motion and Light
In Orbit of Blue, a vibrant rectangular block anchors the composition while sweeping arcs of orange, teal, and gold orbit around it. This painting resonates with the layered dynamism of Mark Bradford and the luminous weight of Anselm Kiefer, blending geometry and motion into a striking dialogue.
Fire and Flame: Geometric Radiance Meets Abstract Motion
In Fire and Flame, a radiant vertical block of yellow and red blazes against a field of sweeping blue and white arcs. The composition resonates with the luminous chromatic fields of Rothko and the energetic layering of Mehretu, balancing structure and motion in a single frame.