Abstract Art

Painting on Paper

Recently I finished a group of twenty acrylic paintings on canvas and posted them to my website at artbylt.com/gallerynew.htm.  Since I was then out of canvasses, I began painting on 22" x 30" archival watercolor paper, taping the paper to pegboard with a border that would make the final paintings 24" x 18".  The paper I am using is "cold press" which means it has a rough texture, unlike "hot press" which is smooth.

Working on paper is very different from working on canvas, and it is taking me some time to adjust.  The paper seems to want a thin wash of paint that takes advantage of its texture and ends up looking more like watercolor.  Paper is not as forgiving as canvas, which makes me less free when I paint on it.  Yet, because the paper is a lot less expensive than a canvas, in some sense I should feel freer to experiment.

I have been experimenting, and one I did this morning became mostly mud.  I applied a lot of thick paint in contrasting colors, but I didn't like the static nature of the composition.  I am used to painting loosely, which allows interesting accidents to happen.  When I went over this painting with a wet brush in order to stir things up, I quickly had the whole thing covered mostly in a greenish mud, with gaps of the original colors showing through.

Maybe I should have stopped then, but I wanted to learn as much as I could from this experience, and to test just what I could do to salvage it.  I applied thin black lines to outline some of the light areas, then drew thick red lines directly from the tube.  I added some thick black as well, and punched up some of the light areas with a transparent orange.

"Wow," I thought as I stood back, "this looks like a painting I might have done forty years ago."  I put it aside.  Tomorrow I'll take a fresh look, when it is dry, and see what can be done.

So far, I think the first two paintings I did in this series of paper paintings have been the most successful.  I wasn't trying so hard then.  I let the surface of the paper dictate what I needed to do.

Now I seem to be fighting it.

Here are the first two paintings, Chances and The Fling:

Introducing Philip Edson

I just discovered the blog of abstract artist Philip Edson at Philip Edson Abstract Artist.  I immediately felt a connection to his work and the things he says about it.  For example, he says, "my real passion is abstract art. It allows me to use my imagination in a way that no other art form permits. I like to think that my art comes from within my soul and reflects a very personal interpretation of the world around me. All of my work is experimental and every painting therefore is a new challenge. It is this challenge that keeps me interested and motivated."

Under his favorite music, Philip lists "Leonard Cohen," who is one of the great inspirers of my own work.  Philip just started this blog, but I hope he'll share more of his art and thoughts about it with us.

Two of the paintings he shows in recent entries that I most relate to are "convivr" and an untitled red painting with very thick, exciting texture.  It is one of a series he is preparing for his next exhibition in Aliante (Valencia), Spain in 2007.

It is so great to be able to find other artists we connect with throughout the world, thanks to the internet. 

Recent Paintings

Recently I completed five paintings with a more subtle, or narrower color range than I usually paint with.  I've been trying to restrict myself lately, beginning with backgrounds of grays, browns, and beige in order to see what will happen with a more limited palette.  Of course, that doesn't mean I can't resist sneaking in other colors, but that I will do it in a more subtle and limited way rather than going "wild with color" as I usually do. 

What is the point in this exercise?  For one thing, I think I sometimes get so overwrought with color that I need a change just for the sake of the contrast.  In my life and in my art, I tend to go overboard in one direction, then to pull back forcefully in the opposite.  I'm working at staying in the middle more, at least as far as my moods go, but I am basically not a middle-of-the-road person.

Here are two of the paintings, "In Memory Of" and "Focus on Wild."

 

In the next painting, "Red Key," you'll see I added subtle touches of red, green and blue:

Finally, I did these small twin paintings, 24" x 24" each, called "Visitation One" and "Visitation Two."