What are we trying to say with our art?

This question is a fascinating one to answer if we want to collect or create art. For the collector, we are drawn to art that causes us to feel what we want to feel. From the creator's point of view, it has to be the overarching "Why?" in our work. When we create, we want to hold that question lightly in the back of our minds. When we start to get answers to that it makes creating much more intuitive and purposeful. Whether I'm thinking of this question as an artist or collector, I think about mood and feeling. Do I want something that stops you in your tracks with color and exuberance or something quiet, serene and, peaceful? I like both even though I tend to create the former more, I am drawn to serene as well and will probably dabble more in that in the future.