In 2006 the Turner Prize gained it's first ever female winner. The artist who achieved this feat hails from Germany and is called is Tomma Abts. In order to carry off the Turner Prize - in the final, Tomma had to overcome three notable artists .

Namely these were - film maker Phil Collins (...not the Genesis guy...), "billboard artist" Mark Titchner & last but not least Rebecca Warren a sculptress to note. The last named was actually the favourite to win with many bookmakers.

By winning the Turner prize Tomma Abts added a cool 25,000 pounds sterling to her bank balance. However it's often said that when it comes to the Turner Prize the exposure one gets from winning is worth far more than the cash value...

What kind of art does Tomma Abts create? Well acrylic or oil paintings actually - abstract art. Perhaps some would say this is unusual considering this is theTurner Prize. It's not known for selecting simple "lowly" painters as winners. NonethelessTomma Abts was chosen originally because of her solo painting exhibitions. The exhibitions based specifically at Greengrassi, London and Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland.

"Intimate" and "compelling" are just two of the adjectives used by the prestigious Tate Gallery to describe paintings by Tomma Abts. When it comes to Tomma's actual approach to her art - they describe this as ""rigorous" and "consistent". According to the Tate - when it comes to abstract art - Tomma Abts simply "enriches" it.

With such praise heaped upon her head it's no surprise to me that she won the prize. However I actually feel that Tomma's abstract artwork isn't "knock out" but it definitely is OK.

Tomma Abts creates her works through repeating geometric shapes and figures on layers of rich colours. I don't consider this a particularly original way to paint. That being said I do find that some of Tomma's artwork work does actually move me in unexpected ways.

I don't really know why - but each Tomma Abts painting measures exactly 48 x 38 cms. However I can see that this makes for more concentrated or focused artwork. Only Tomma herself knows why she opted for these exact measurements.

When creating titles for her paintings apparently Tomma simply plucks one from a dictionary of German first names! Titles like "Veeke" for example were created in this way. In my view this is surely only slightly more interesting than numbering each picture!

All in all I think that Tomma Abts creates abstract art that is pretty accessible to the public at large. This is something that perhaps could not be said about the artwork of previous Turner Prize winners! I base my opinion of course on Tomma's prize winning paintings. I would go further and state that I cannot conceive of a Tomma Abts creation offending anyone - even slightly.

In the end it's just my personal opinion but I do believe that it's entirely posible that Tomma Abts will go on to become a household name - within her own lifetime...Of course she could also disappear without trace from the media - and our minds in the blink of an eye, for precisely the same reasons.