Abstract Art

New Series of Abstract Paintings on Paper

I just started a new series of abstract paintings on paper, using textured archival water-color paper, sized 30" x 22".  First I draw lines to create a 24" x 18" image space, and using masking tape, I attach the paper to pegboard which is set up on my easel.  I carefully tape all the white space around the image, so that when the painting is finished, I can pull off the tape and have a clean white border.

Painting with acrylic paint on paper is very different from painting on canvas.  The paper is more absorbent, and so lends itself more to water-color techniques of washes and dry brush.  As I began this series, I had to adjust my usual approach to fit the medium I was working with.

Here's my first try:

   Impressions, 24" x 18"

Art Marketing, Social Media, and Buzz

I have been feeling overwhelmed lately by the multiple demands of email messages, blogging, Facebook, Linked In, Squidoo, Art Review, Youtube, and other sites designed to spread the buzz and keep in touch with clients and colleagues. The buzz is now in my head and I want to scream, ENOUGH! 

In order for me to make my abstract art, I need an empty space with zero demands, not the chattering swirl of comments and invites and requests.  When I check into Facebook, I get dizzy with the crowd of wall comments, images and links.  If I start browsing, I am soon lost in the swirl, disoriented by the time I retreat.

Management: that's what I need.  A way to manage these tools so that they don't grind and chop me into little bits of consciousness.  A tool is only as good as its user, right?

Anyone else feeling this pressure?

Perhaps the economic downturn is making us (artists) even more frantic to market our art. After all, the above tools are "free" in the sense that they don't cost dollars.  But what is the cost to our psyches?  I think I want to spend more time walking the trails along Ithaca's gorges and less time  sitting in front of this computer. 

Posted New Abstract Paintings on Website

Over the past few months I've been working on fourteen canvasses, and finally posted the completed images on my website at Abstract Art Gallery New.  Here are a few:

   Fertile Seed, 44" x 44"

   Fruitful, 48" x 48"

   Abstract Expressionism Four, 30" x 30"

Horizontal Abstract Art: Last Canvas Completed

Painting horizontal abstract art has always been a challenge, because of the landscape effect such a shape has for me.  This time I incorporated landscape into the image, and here is the final canvas:

I am calling this series, Abstract Patterns.  This one is #4, and is 40" x 30".

Finishing Horizontal Abstract Paintings

After a struggle, I added the final touches to Canvas #64, a horizontal canvas on which I've been trying to meld the feel of landscape with an overall pattern of leaf-like drops to coalesce into an abstract painting:

   Canvas #64, 40" x 30"

More Progress on Horizontal Abstract Paintings, Part 2

I am still working on two blue-green horizontal abstract paintings:

   Canvas #67, 40" x 30"

I changed two of the colors above, for more emphasis.  Hopefully, I can apply what I learned in this one to the next one:

   Canvas #66, 36" x 30"

More Progress on Horizontal Abstract Paintings

Today I continued work on one of the four horizontal abstract paintings I've been struggling with these past couple of weeks:

 

Canvas 67, 36" x 30"

I already realize I'll have to change some of these colors.  No oomph to it.

Still Working on Horizontal Abstract Paintings

I'm still working on two horizontal abstract paintings that seem to be eluding me:

Canvas #64, 40" x 30"

   Canvas 65, 36" x 30"

I am almost happy with Canvas #65, but #64 is not working at all.

Meanwhile, I continued work on Canvas #67:

   Canvas #67, 36" x 30"

Maybe I should have stuck to square canvases?

Horizontal Abstract Art: A Challenge, Part 7

It is taking me forever to complete this horizontal canvas to my satisfaction. I somehow got lost in an abstract art conception that didn't pan out in the execution.  Here's what I have at this point:

   Canvas #65, 36" x 30"

Unfortunately, I made just about the same mistake on this one:

   Canvas 64, 40" x 30"

Even though I will be forced to fill in all these little leaf patterns, I'm afraid I won't be happy with the result.

What Should A Contemporary Artist's Website Look Like?

Recently a contemporary artist friend who is new to promoting her art on the internet said she was hearing conflicting advice about what makes a good artist's website.  "Some people are telling me I should keep it very spare," she said, "with little text and mostly images of my art. And that galleries do not like to see prices on an artist's website."

It is true, I told her, that galleries do not like it when artists publish their prices on the internet.  So if your main purpose in having a website is to attract galleries, then leave the prices off.  Galleries in New York and Los Angeles pay higher rents than galleries in small-town, USA, and therefore need to charge higher prices for the art they sell.  They may also take a larger percentage of the retail price for this same reason.

Once you publish a price on the internet, it would be hard for a gallery to charge more for the same painting, or even a different painting of the same size by the same artist.  The internet is a great leveler, and more collectors are Googling art and artists, rather than relying completely on a gallery director or designer to tell them what to buy and at what price.  

If your main objective is to sell your art through galleries, then your website should provide a showcase for the art along with your credentials, exhibition history, statement, and reviews.  Think of it as an online portfolio.  You'll want to use your internet presence to help your present galleries sell your art, and to help you find new gallery representation.