There seems to be two sentiments that are ubiquitous with abstract art, and they usually seem to stem from the same type of person. One is the notion that making abstract art is easy. The truth is that the people who think this are correct, but these people are also assholes. The other is their familiar adage that goes something like, "That's art? Even I could do that!" That is also true, which makes them not only assholes, but self deprecating assholes. Armchair quarterbacks who would rather whine than pick up a brush and make a million dollars.
I do understand why people are reluctant to open their minds to abstract art. Just the idea of it is a fruity undertaking. I'd imagine the people who act cantankerously towards the abstract are tethered to their recognizable existence. They like seeing trees and faces and lawn chairs and other familiar things. The idea of thinking conceptually is too much to deal with, seeing things like lines and squiggles only leaves them wanting.
Keep in mind, the nancies that overly embrace abstract art are just as douchey. Stamping someone with a genius label for making those same lines and squiggles is just as obnoxious as dismissing them completely.
Flinging paint makes for paintings of flung paint, whether it looks good or not doesn't really depend on genius, it's more like power dating. Make enough and you'll get lucky, and once you get lucky and are branded a genius, all the crap that had failed before is elevated along with you.
Abstract art shouldn't be about the viewer anyway. It should be about the person making the art. So perhaps it isn't true than anyone can do it. Anyone can splatter ink or go nuts with a pencil, but not everyone can free their mind. The mess you make isn't the art, it's the process. Being able to disconnect with the world and find some sort of flow, and that's just what I did with this one. I made it today, whether it's good or not doesn't really matter. Before I made it I was pissed off about making a JV mistake like shooting a blank roll of film, but I took that blank roll, put on some Gil Scott and let it go. A couple 14 minute songs later and I had a few homemade negatives and felt much better.
Unlike me, this time I didn't go in without a plan. I asked a friend to recommend an artist to work off of, and he suggested Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (b. 1889).
I couldn't tell you too much about her. She was Russian and a cubist painter. This example is much less complex than many her other pieces, but this was the one I was thinking of when I made mine. She didn't make it long enough to have to deal with making a website, but check her out here. Unless you have a five year old, in that case just have them fingerpaint.