I always paint for myself; I never like to explain my work. I can't get into conversations about 'what I was thinking' or 'why I painted it?'... I'm not being arty or rude, it's just that my work is personal to me and I like to keep it that way.
The only thing I do think though, is that the clouds and birds in my paintings represents being free; maybe I'm trying to fly away from the realities and responsibilities of life through my paintbrush?
If a painting evokes an emotion in you, then you have connected with it for your own reasons. That's what I think is wonderful about art It allows us to express our feeling and emotions, without having to talk about it.