Abstract Distraction

I was in the process of obliterating a painting -- yet another that I thought was dull, conventional, uninteresting -- and in painting out the recognizable forms,  and then playing with the color, this is the result.  It's got the luminosity I couldn't get to, trapped by the tyranny of the objects I was painting, and there's depth created by the contrast in value, more than the warm/cool transitions.

Is this why people paint abstract paintings?  Maybe it's one reason -- but it's also why the paintings I consider especially great have both the paint qualities I like in this and have some recognizable elements that tie them to the real world.  There are paintings of mine, those I count as successes, where I get that balance right.  I seem to be mired in the other, frustrating works right now.   The solution has to be to keep painting.