A local artist used meditation to create stunning works of abstract art.

It's nothing like you've seen before because it's not meant to look like anything specific.

The abstract works of art on display at Gallery 221 at Hillsborough Community College allow visitors to take away their own interpretations.

"I think most people are a little bit more comfortable and more familiar with representational work, but sometimes it's a little bit of a challenge to come to terms with abstract art which has no recognizable object or thing that you can put your finger on," Amanda Poss, Gallery 221 Director, said.

All of the paintings in the "Isness of Being" exhibit are by Bassmi Ibrahim, who has lived in Clearwater since the 1970s. He mediates before starting every painting and then depicts whatever image he sees.

"We have this really dark area here and this subtle band below ... these negative spaces, these lighter areas kind of lift up those darker spaces and give the whole painting a sense of buoyancy, and all the sudden you get this very active fluid rather than burdened down," Poss explained.

All of the pieces on display are some of Ibrahim's more recent works from the early 2000s to 2017.

Poss said it's important to them to showcase the talent artists here in the Bay area have to offer.

"I think Tampa Bay is sort of a hidden gem. It doesn't have the name recognition of New York, Chicago, or LA, but we have a lot of really talented artists who choose to stay in this are and make a career here," she explained.

And while the gallery is within Hillsborough Community College, it's not just for the students. It is free and open to the public.

The exhibit will be on display until May 4. The gallery is open Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.