I like it

I realized recently that I decide what to paint based on my own emotional reaction to the subject. In other words, I paint what I like. I went to the bookstore yesterday to take a look at what subjects/images other people are into. There's a big difference between what's featured, for example, in photography books, and what I paint.
I get the feeling that people look at some of my paintings and think, "what's that a picture of?" Meanwhile, I am having a huge emotional reaction to the image.