Abstract Art

Finishing Second Pair of Abstract Paintings

After finishing Canvas #51 and #53 (see previous post), I went back to work on Canvas #50 and #52, the second pair of abstract paintings I've been working on.  In Canvas #50, I began to fill in some of the spaces with a pale blue, a darker blue, and a cadmium red deep mixed with gloss medium:

  Canvas #50, 44" x 44"

This painting has much more definition now, and a better sense of movement.  

Final revision on abstract painting

I used three washes (acrylic paint mixed with water and gloss medium) to fill in spaces on this abstract painting:  a rusty brown, a paler version of that brown, and a pale green:

  Canvas #51, 44" x 44"

It feels just about done to me, and I will sign it soon.  It goes with Canvas #53 to make a pair in a similar style and colors:

Canvas 53, 48" x 48"

Accidents in Abstract Art

Some abstract art is planned, some evolves through the process of painting, and sometimes an accident is turned into art.  For example, in the middle of an action painting process of quick movement, large gesture, and swift brush strokes with a paint-filled brush, some paint will drip and splatter.  The challenge is to then make these "accidents" work in the overall composition.

Today I had a lucky accident in my painting studio, but not that kind.  I was knocking the top of a jar of mixed acrylic paint with the handle of a screwdriver, attempting to loosen the dried paint so I could open the jar.  Instead, the top cracked in half, which startled me, and I dropped the jar.

Pale blue paint fell on my painting table, me, and the floor, spattering three or four feet.  Having seeped through my clothes, it was cold against my skin, and my painting mocs were sticking to the floor in a puddle.  I wasn't sure what to clean up first, but started to mop up the table and then the floor with nearby paper towels. I decided it would not be smart to leave the area until my mocs and clothes had dried out a bit.

As I was wiping the floor, I noticed the splatter, and then panicked:  did I get some on the painting on my easel?  Did I ruin a couple of finished paintings leaning against a nearby wall?  Quickly, I examined everything to find that I'd lucked out.  The only canvas affected was a blank one I hadn't started painting yet!

Revision on Abstract Canvas Continues

Today I continued to fill in spaces I'd drawn directly from the tube, choosing a pale green wash:

  Canvas #51, 44" x 44"

While this piece falls into the category "abstract art," it does utilize symbols, stick figures, and other elements that are recognizable.  I worked at blending them into the overall design, but still have more I want to do on this canvas. 

Revising 2nd Abstract Painting in a Pair

For the past two weeks I've been working on two pairs of abstract paintings. After finding that I couldn't complete Canvas 53 to my satisfaction by using lines only, I decided to revisit Canvas 51 in a similar manner:

  Canvas 51: 44" x 44"

I filled in spaces with the rust brown, and will continue with washes of other colors.  Meanwhile, I signed Canvas 53:

  Canvas #53, 48" x 48"

Painting Abstract Art to Music

I always listen to music when I paint.  I don't know if portrait, still-life, or other realist artists like to listen to music when they work, but for abstract art, I find it a must.  A friend of mine recently gave me a cd of Kodo's Mondo Head, Japanese drum music.  Mondo Head means "a world connected, all vibrating in magnificent rhythm and colors," a perfect accompaniment to the visual mixing of color, form and line. 

Because I liked the Kodo cd so much, my friend just gave me Congotronics by Konono #1, contemporary drum music from a street corner band in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.  I am not good at describing music or what it does, but this cd creeps up on me and gets under my skin.  I can feel it guiding my hand as I paint. 

More Progress on Canvas 53

I have been attempting to paint four canvases utilizing thin lines drawn directly from a tube with a cap attached (like decorating a cake).  But when I looked at Canvas #53, I realized that it needed some work with a brush.  In most of my abstract art, I like to use colors I mix myself, often with water or gloss medium added, in addition to colors directly from the tube. 

In short, I abandoned the "line only" principle for this canvas, and applied two shades of a pale brown wash with a brush:

  Canvas #53, 48" x 48"

Now I feel the image is coming together.  While it's a useful challenge to set up a problem or plan when painting, sometimes you have to change the rules in order to make the painting work. 

Modern Art Two: Another Canvas In Process

I've been working on four canvases in a style utilizing thin lines over a background with oblong patches of  color on a solid base.  In Modern Art Two, I've progressed to this point:

  Canvas #53, 48" x 48"

I'll take another look at it tomorrow to see what  else it needs.

Modern Art: Progression of a canvas

This week I continue to work on four canvases in a series I call, "modern art."  I am working mostly with line,  on a background filled with oblong shapes of different colors.  Here is Canvas #50, as it has progressed over the last two weeks:

  Canvas #50, 48 x 48

Stage 2

  Stage 3

  Stage 4

  Stage 5
    

Abstract Paintings from 1960 to 1993

I just created a new gallery on my website for my abstract paintings created between 1960 and 1993.  Here are a couple:

  Just Imagine, 48 x 48, 1993 Acrylic on Canvas

  Soled Out, 24 x 18, 1962, collage on board

  A Fond Perspective, 36 x 36, 1989, Acrylic on Canvas