Abstract Art

More Work on Second Abstract Painting

2012-06-01T13:01:00-04:00

This second abstract painting is part of a set of four canvases I've been working on. Originally I painted the backgrounds on all four, but now I'm finishing each one individually. I used the same colors on this canvas as the previous painting, but changed the overall design of the patterns.

The first step was to draw circles and fill them in with yellow, emerald green, aqua and blues. I used a wet brush to fill in the centers, leaving the paint thin and translucent:

Slice #26, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

In the next step, I drew triangle-like shapes on vines, beginning with emerald green in a band across the canvas near the top. The next colors were aqua and brilliant blue, in larger bands below the emerald green and a small band above it. The next color I used was cobalt blue, and the final color will be Prussian blue.

Slice #26, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Finishing Blue Abstract Painting on Canvas

2012-05-30T13:00:00-04:00

In this final step, I began in the center, drawing leaf-like shapes on vines in lime green down the center of the canvas. Then I filled in each shape with a small wet brush, blending the color from the lines I'd drawn. When necessary, I added more paint to make the filled-in areas dense enough.

I repeated this process with aqua, brilliant blue, cobalt, and prussian blue, working my way outward, until the painting was complete. This type of composition is one of my most popular, but requires a lot of patience and care. It's the final layer of paint that makes it all come together.

Slice #25, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

20% Off on Abstract Paintings - Memorial Day Sale

2012-05-28T08:06:46-04:00

Art sales have been slow this year, so I decided to offer a 20% off sale for Memorial Day which lasts until June 4th. This offer is good for any abstract paintings, prints or drawings from my art website. I hate to think of art as a commodity like socks or furniture, but with the economy still stalling, a discount may help someone who loves my art to make a purchasing decision. (The discount coupon to be entered on my shopping cart is MemorialDayArt.)

After completing the backgrounds on four new canvases, I began working on them individually. In this step, I drew rough circles, beginning in the center with the smallest size in cadmium yellow light. I worked my way outward, drawing larger circles, using lime green, aqua, brilliant blue, and cobalt. After I drew the circles, I took a small wet brush and filled them in, letting some of the background show through.

Slice #25, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Next Step in Preparing Backgrounds on New Paintings

2012-05-25T13:00:00-04:00

I am painting on canvases that are 1.5" thick, with the canvas wrapped around the sides. I paint the sides and the tops and bottoms so that no frame is needed. This means I always have to turn the canvas at some point while I'm painting in order to cover all four sides. Sometimes I wait until I'm finished with the front and sides before painting the top and bottom. It depends on the kind of painting I'm working on.

For these four new abstract paintings, I am turning the canvas as I paint the backgrounds. See the post below for my first background coverage. In the next step, I again drew lines in various colors randomly across the whole canvas, and then painted over them with a large brush dipped in water to blend everything together. This process creates a light wash of color while leaving remnants of the lines visible.

Slice #25 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Slice #27 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Beginning a New Series of Abstract Paintings

2012-05-23T13:00:00-04:00

I began a new series of four abstract paintings on canvas in a slim vertical shape 10" x 48". My first step was to paint a background on all four at once. To do this, I first drew lines randomly across the canvas in white, black, blues, emerald green, and alizarin crimson. Then I took a large wet brush and while the lines were still wet, brushed over the whole canvas, blending the colors.

I like to let the canvas show through in this process, which creates a sense of lightness in the background. My first two canvases came out darker because of the density of the painted lines, so I used fewer lines of lighter colors in the second two canvases.

Slice #25, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Slice #27, 10" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

Black and White Paintings on Paper - Finishing the Series

2012-05-21T13:00:00-04:00

I painted the last of six black and white abstracts on paper using a combination of brush and palette knife. In this one, I let the horizontal dominate, which gives it an impression of an abstract landscape. I also covered a great deal of the paper with black so that these sections appear almost as land masses against sky or water.

In addition to brush and palette knife, I drew lines in the mars black across the paper and then took a dry brush and feathered them to soften and broaden the look. I wanted the black to flow and drift to create that delicate, shadowy effect.

B&W#14, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

Fifth Black and White Abstract

2012-05-18T13:00:00-04:00

For my fifth black and white abstract on paper, I began with a palette knife, spreading thick mars black paint from a tube onto the paper. I did this roughly, leaving the white paper showing through here and there.

Then I used a thinner paint to brush on lines, allowing the paint to drip and splatter. I worked at getting a sense of heaviness toward to the bottom and lightness at the top. This ended up giving the painting a landscape feel.

B&W #13, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

Fourth Black and White Painting on Paper

2012-05-16T13:00:00-04:00

This is the fourth black and white in a series of six that I'm painting with acrylic on large watercolor paper. For this one I used a large brush to make the thick horizontal swaths with mars black acrylic. Then I switched to a smaller brush for the thinner vertical and angled lines criss-crossing the wide ones.

I let the edges of the lines fade into the white paper with a dry-brush effect. Then I drew sketchy lines and brushed over them. I also let the paint freely drip and splatter to give it a rough, spontaneous effect.

B&W #12, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

Third Abstract Painting in Black and White

2012-05-14T13:00:00-04:00

I continued with this series of black and white abstract paintings on paper, using the white paper as the "white" and acrylic paint as the "black." It means that once I make a mark, it stays. I can add to it, but I can't make it white again. This is a challenge I am enjoying as I experiment with these.

I began with thick paint on a large brush, making the widest marks. I moved my arm in large gestures to sweep across the paper. Then I used a smaller brush for the thinner lines, thinning down the paint with water so that it would drip and splash naturally.

B&W #11, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

Second Black and White Non-objective Painting

2012-05-11T13:00:00-04:00

This is the second piece in my series of black and white non-objective paintings on paper. They are all inspired by Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell, but have my sensibility and touch. I am using the very white paper for the white, and mars black acrylic for the black. No white paint is involved here.

I began with a wide brush, sweeping it across the paper to make large curving shapes. I then added echoes of thinner marks with a smaller brush, allowing the paper to show through as the brush became dry.

I tried to be loose with this, letting the marks sweep in a natural gesture, and allowing lots of splashing paint to fall across the paper.

B&W #10, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

Painting on Paper in Black and White

2012-05-09T13:00:00-04:00

I started a group of large abstract paintings on paper, using black acrylic paint to create a black and white image. These are spontaneous, expressionist compositions where there is no room for corrections. The paper background is the "white" in the black and white, so once I've made a mark, it stays.

I began with a wide brush for the central image and then switched to smaller brushes, working with quick strokes that left some dry-brush shadings as well as the dense black. I let the paint flow freely, leaving natural drips and spattering. In the final step I drew black lines, again quick and spontaneous, to give more texture and emphasis.

B&W #9, 46" x 34" acrylic on paper.

An Abstract Vignette to Match My Abstract Painting

2012-05-07T13:00:00-04:00

One of my writing/artist friends was inspired by one of my abstract paintings and the poems of Emily Dickenson to write this piece. The painting is shown below it.

“A little madness in the spring"- a burst of vibrant red oozing from its center. It’s center containing a secret, a lurking non committal figure, purely abstract striking each of us differently. Mixing not one, not two, but a triad of emotion. Red over powering red, upon red, around red. Begin with red--use red to express the devilish work of Our Secret. In the center is a pumper, a structurally sound heart of sorts that enables us to not only see the abstract but attach to it meaning-- almost giving it a face. Putting a pulse in the painting. Reviving us once the pulse reaches us. We stand observing the abstract with the resemblance of blood on our clothing--on our face. We are an extension of this painting just by being present in this place, on this day when the heart of this piece reaches out to us...drawing us in to get a closer look...to allow us to swing in its depths and be alive with its power. We question the heart within us...are we friends with delight or pain? The devilish nature of its extended tentacles grab us and pull us in and we pump....alongside the abstract and we reach the next observers as they come close to view the center. We reach them with red. We pump our vengeance onto them ...the quiet observers who thought they were just window shopping this evening. And now drawn in like they’ve walked into a spiders web. The red covers them and they are guided in by us as we say “I shall not wait”...we are thrown from their pumping to the floor, a bloody carcass of which we went in, now they have taken over. We scramble to our feet, running amok throughout this gallery having been transformed by the piece entitled Our Secret, and we think we know now how this painting got its name. To observe is to be drawn in–used—then discarded. The painting is victorious, but the victory comes late. “Last to be identified.” -- by Kim Barhite (words in quotes by Emily Dickenson)

Our Secret, 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas.

New Abstraction: A Musical Piece?

2012-05-04T12:53:00-04:00

I started taking piano lessons recently, and I think my new musical awareness shows through in this recent abstract drawing. See if you agree.

I began with calligraphy pens, creating the sweeping wave-like lines first in blues, greens and magenta. Then I drew finer lines with a Koh-i-noor fine point pen in black and red. The horizontal lines and small circles suggest the lines of musical notation. The opposing shapes and colors suggest a dance.

What do you think?

2012 Drawing #9, 11.5" x 9" ink on paper.

You Can Find My Abstract Art at Canadian Home & Garden Site

2012-05-02T13:00:00-04:00

My abstract art was recently listed in the Home & Garden directory started by Canadian Carolyn Blank. Carolyn grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and her family moved every few years. She says she was "exposed to the fascinating discovery of how each new space, with its own unique traits, could feel like home."

Carolyn is also using her business to help find a cure for Alzheimer's. Her family was touched by this disease, and because of that, she is donating 10% of net profits to this cause. My own family has been touched by this disease as well, so I am happy to participate in this project.

You'll find me at Home & Garden under Paintings & Prints, Decorative Accessories, and Art Galleries. Most of the companies listed ship to both the US and Canada.

How to Paint Abstract Art

2012-04-30T13:00:00-04:00

Each time I write in my blog about a new painting I'm working on, I am talking about the painting process as I do it. Now there are books available that tell you how to paint abstract art from many artists' perspectives.

Abstract artist Sue St. John has been producing these books for several years, and I am one of the artists in her fourth edition. The books are collections of paintings by a group of abstract artists, along with a detailed step-by-step description of how they painted them. As Sue says, the point is not to copy what the artists did, but to learn from them in order to create your own.

Sue's first book on this topic, Journeys To Abstraction, is now available for pre-order in hard cover from Amazon. But you can purchase all the books as e-books on Sue's website. One of my favorite artists, Cheryl McClure, is in Journeys To Abstraction. This book also has advice on composition, color, symbolism, inspiration, and more.

Here's the painting I describe in Sue's fourth book:

Parsing the Fullness, 30" x 30" acrylic on canvas.