This week I put six of my newest abstract paintings on my website. That means I made a commitment to call these six paintings "finished." Some have lingered in the studio for a while before I was ready to do that. Others have been worked on more recently.
There are two horizontal paintings--revisions of early pattern paintings. One is very busy and "in-your-face," the other is more muted:
Abstract Patterns Three, 36" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
Abstract Patterns Four, 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
The other four paintings are small square canvases, all painted recently. Here's a sample:
Feeling True, 24" x 24" acrylic on canvas.
You can see all six of the new paintings, as well as my other most recent work, on my New Abstract Paintings Gallery. All are for sale and available in giclee prints on canvas as well.
I used a brush to cover this 24" x 24" canvas in a parchment background before beginning the foreground with a palette knife. Then I chose cadmium red to begin laying down colors with the knife, applying thick swaths of the acrylic paint.
Next, I added a few swaths of cadmium orange, and then used titanium white to set off these colors, being careful not to let the white blend too much with the red and orange. The last color I used was mars black, quickly swiping it onto the canvas to get a sense of sharpness and energy in the marks.
After that, I did a back-and-forth dance--adding more of this color here, that one there, blending the paint in some areas, being careful not to in others. Working with the palette knife is always tricky--you can get interesting effects by overlaying colors, and by using the knife to scrape away paint, leaving the under color.
My last step was to draw lines in black, outlining some shapes, adding texture, and defining the overall composition. By outlining a "negative space," for example, I could change it from background into foreground.
Stopping in time is also important--before you overdo an effect and wreck whatever the painting has going for it. I think I stopped in time on this one--when I look at it again tomorrow, I'll decide.
Abstract Painting #229, 24" x 24" acrylic on canvas.
I often let new paintings sit for a while and then give them another look. Today I worked on two abstract paintings that had been hanging around the studio. I liked them both, but felt they might still need something more.
In this first one, I added just a few more spots of color--a bright orange and a pale yellow--which made a big difference, I thought. Then I played with it some more, mixing a light blue with white to make an even paler shade, and using it throughout the canvas where I thought it might do some good. Check out the original painting, and see if you can see the difference here:
Abstract Painting #225, 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
While fine tuning the next painting, I made more drastic changes. I had been focusing on black and white and grays in recent painting sessions, but this time I went back to the colors in the underpainting: yellow, orange and red.
I began with a cadmium red deep, adding circles of this color interspersed among the dark gray and black circles toward the bottom of the canvas. I continued the layers of circles, working my way toward the top of the canvas, with cadmium red medium and red light, a medium orange, and finally cadmium orange.
Abstract Painting #224, 36" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
I've been repainting a series I called "pattern paintings" because they were basically bland backgrounds with detailed patterns of color on the surface. I decided they were too static and "decorative," so I've been trying to make them more interesting.
Here's what today's attempt looked like before I began to work on it:
Abstract Patterns Two, 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
I began to paint over the middle horizontal section of the canvas, using a medium sized brush. I used colors that had been toned down and mixed with glaze medium and water: a dark red, purple, lavender, and violet blue. I painted in up-and-down strokes, quite loosely.
At that point, I thought it would be better to let more of the underpainting show through, so I took a rag and began to wipe off some of the paint I'd just added. I also blended the other colors, leaving ghosts and splashes here and there.
All this was an experiment, and I continued in that manner by drawing random scribbled lines in cadmiumn yellow light, focusing on the top and bottom of the canvas. Then I drew similar lines in Prussian blue, focusing on the center horizontal swath of the painting.
Here's how it ended up:
Abstract Painting #226, 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
Before I began painting with a palette knife, I first used a brush to paint the background of this small canvas with unbleached titanium. Then I began adding wide strokes of color with the palette knife, beginning with cadmium red deep, raw sienna, and burnt sienna.
I left spaces for the titanium white, which I added next. I allowed the white to blend somewhat with the other colors, but not too much. I then added a bit of parchment, and finally some burnt umber.
Once I got the basic blocks of color in, I continued to add more of one here, more of another there--always being careful to control the amount of blending with the background. When I wanted a more solid color, I added another layer with the knife. I also added some of the darker colors gingerly to the background to give it more texture and interest.
My final step was to draw lines in burn tumber outlining some of the shapes and guiding the eye through the composition. The lines added emphasis as well as texture.
To make this new abstract painting, my primary tool was a palette knife, which I used to apply heavy body Liquitex acrylics. First I painted the whole 20" x 20" canvas in unbleached titanium (a creamy beige color) with a brush.
Then I used a palette knife to apply the main colors, beginning with titanium white. I made some loose, broad strokes which left some of the background color showing through. Next, I added yellow oxide, then raw sienna, and finally, burnt umber.
As I worked, I let the colors blend, but not too much. It is tricky using a knife because you have less control than a with a brush. I used the burnt umber for the heaviest accent since it had the most contrast with the white and the beige background.
My last step was to draw lines in the burnt umber, highlighting movement and outlining shapes for emphasis. Then I slowed down, adding more white here, more brown there, even using a brush at one point to subtly change a color.
I usually paint in square format, which I like best for non-objective abstract paintings, but among these six new paintings I just put up on my website, are four verticals. There are two sets of two in the same sizes and similar colors so that they might be hung together if desired.
Two of the paintings are in stark black, white and parchment with touches of yellow and red. Here's one of them:
In this new drawing I worked with intersecting lines, both curved and straight, to gradually build up the composition. I began using the thick points of Zig double-sided calligraphy pens, beginning with black.
One pen that was beginning to lose its ink saturation was useful in creating a paler shade of black, which looks gray on the paper. It was useful in getting a sense of shading, receding into the background.
I drew thinner lines as well as thick, adding a grayish-blue and two browns to the mix. Then I began to draw lines with a black fine point pen, outlining the central shapes to create paths throughout the composition.
My final step was to fill in some of these shapes with the two browns. As I worked on this drawing, I stopped periodically to step back and see how the composition was developing. When I liked what I saw, I stopped.
2014 Abstract Drawing #8, archival inks on acid-free paper.
I've been taking a break from painting and working on abstract drawings made with Zig memory calligraphy pens, which come in a large variety of colors. Each pen has two tips, one fine and one broad, so it's possible to make lines varying from thick to thin.
In this drawing, I began with various shades of blue, beginning with a darker navy blue. I let my hand move freely across the paper, spontaneously creating shapes and lines. I was listening to Beethoven's piano solos at the time, which prompted me to let the lines flow lyrically.
Next, I overlaid some of the darker lines with lighter colors, and used brush pens to fill in some shapes with solid colors. I used the fine point tips to draw smaller details and then filled those in with brush pens.
I added a bright yellow for highlighting, then decided to deepen it with a more orange-yellow. Then I used an even darker orange for smaller highlights.
Each step in a drawing leads me to the next step. Sometimes it's a move forward, sometimes backwards, but eventually I feel satisfied and stop.
2014 Abstract Drawing #4, 11.5" x 9" archival inks on acid-free paper.
I had been working on one small painting for ages, trying to make it work. Finally I gave up and covered over the whole canvas in parchment. That left me a textured background to begin a new painting on.
I began with cadmium orange, applying it with a brush in a free-form central shape. Then I blended Indian yellow and raw sienna around the edges. Next I added titanium white, blending it with the background and using it to highlight areas of the composition.
After that I used a mixture of pale yellow and a medium red to add interest and contrast. Then, feeling even more contrast was needed, I applied some cobalt green with a small brush.
Using the same brush, I added burnt umber, blending it with the other colors and using it to deepen the contrast and highlight shapes.
After that I added more cadmium orange, standing back periodically to see where more was needed. Using all the colors, I tinkered with the composition until I felt it flowed and breathed the way I wanted it to.
My final step was to draw a few lines in burnt umber, outlining shapes and guiding the eye's movement across the canvas.
Abstract Painting #219, 20" x 20" acrylic on canvas.
Joel Cohen of Palm Beach, Florida, turns nature and architecture into fabulous abstract images. I especially like his black-and-white photos, which he's been concentrating on lately.
Chair Shadows by Joel Cohen
Joel's experience includes over thirty years in the graphic design industry and fifteen years on the board of the Soho Photo Gallery in NYC. He says that when shooting an image he finds there is no need to heavily manipulate his compositions in post-production as he uses the viewfinder to preserve its integrity.
In his upcoming solo exhibition, "256 Shades of Grey," running from January 11 through February 8 at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, he'll be showing recent black and white photos with an abstract edge. The opening reception is Saturday, January 11th from 3 to 5.
Sea Grapes Palm Beach by Joel Cohen
Joel's work has been shown extensively in Manhattan and South Florida. You'll find more of both his color and black-and-white photographs at www.FotoGraphicimages.com.
In between finishing painting commissions, I've been working on six small 20" x 20" canvases. This week I finally finished them, scanned them, and got them up on my website. This is always a laborious process, but also satisfying to see them up on the site.
I was giving my paintings names like "abstract art 1, 2, etc.," but have gone back to giving each one a real name that comes into my head as I look at it after it's finished. This particular group--perhaps because I worked on them in between other projects--seems to have a wide range in terms of color and composition.
I've had a hard time finalizing two paintings for a commission I received recently. The paintings need to work separately or together, and will most likely be hung a few inches apart. The list of required colors was long, with little room for me to add or subtract colors to make the composition work better.
I worked for a long time on one set of two paintings, but didn't like the way they came out. So I started two new canvases, and was much happier with the results. I let the paintings dictate what they needed instead of a formula of prescribed colors and percentages of each. Not that my client was that specific, but the instructions were way more constrained than I usually have when doing a commission.
I sent the photos to my client, and she liked them. But she still had a request for some changes. One color wasn't the exact shade she wanted, and the paintings were missing another color she thought should be there.
So I reworked the paintings to bring them in line with her requests. And that made her happy. And the paintings are now on their way to her home.
Commissioned Painting #1, 30" x 36" acrylic on canvas.
Commissioned Painting #2, 30" x 36" acrylic on canvas.
I just made a new video demonstrating how I paint. In it I show how I use a brush, a palette knife, and lines drawn with acrylic paint. I'm adding it to both my blogs, because seeing something being done presents a different and often a clearer view than reading about how it is done.
"I just finished your book; it was compelling and so emotional and candid. I resonated with so many things, from large to small, and thank you for being so honest." --Nancy M. If you are interested in the life of an artist, issues of depression and bipolar disorder, or the challenges of caregiving for elderly parents, I think you will find this book a moving account of one woman's experience with all three.
