Archive for the ‘Abstract Art’ Category
Art Walk Night
The third Thursday of the month is Art Walk night in Bonita Springs, FL. Tonight was the night and I decided to attend. Besides, my Abstract Art teacher has a studio there and I wanted to see where she works.
The Promenade in Bonita Springs is an uptown area that is part of a mall. Part of the mall is still open but many shops have been closed, mostly because of the economy of the times, and are being used by artists to display their works and use as a studio. What a wonderful use for those unused spaces.
During my walk, I saw beautiful paintings, some in acrylic, some in oils. There was also stunning fabric art like no other I had ever seen, by a lady whose mother and grandmother were also fabric artists. A lady who formerly did fashion design had absolutely beautiful jewelry. She also made the most delightful wall art from found objects like dresser handles and other antiques. Someone else had created large mobiles out of plastic of some kind – very colorful and amazing. I finally found my teacher’s studio and the art she had to display and had a wonderful time walking through the Promenade for December Art Walk.
My Abstract Art Class #4
Last week, the lesson in my Abstract Art class was about symbols. We thought of a bunch of symbols, some of which were heart, $, #, hand, star, @, !, yin yang, cross, +, =, fish, x o. An artist could make one or more paintings with each of these in mind.
Teacher then showed us photos which she had collected with some of these symbols in mind. Most of us used one of her photos as inspiration to make our own painting. This is the painting I made from one of her photos because my son was in a band for several years and that photo reminded me of him. I might even send it out to him as a gift!
My Abstract Art Class #3
Last week’s lesson in my Abstract Art class was creating a purely abstract painting. The teacher gave us each a large sheet of paper with 4 rectangles on it (assuming our canvases were rectangular). We were to put our left hand (if we were right handed) on two of the horizontal lines of a rectangle to mark where the rectangle was and close our eyes. With the other hand we made whatever kind of marks we desired. We repeated this exercise for each of the other 3 rectangles.
We then chose the design we wanted for our painting and drew it on the canvas. We could alter the design, if needed, to make the design more pleasing, and colored in the various shapes whatever colors we chose. Mine looked pretty good, no matter which side was up (we check each painting in this way) – but I may have to do something about “Snoopy”!
How to Critique Yourself – for the Plein Air Painter (2)
My first essay about critique for the plein air painter was last week. Robert Genn continued, saying he felt that a checklist is valuable and that you need to write and follow your own list. His list includes a series of varying questions: Meaningful subject? Strong patterns? Middle tones? Interlocking gradations? Echoing shapes? Flowing design? Alluring counterpoint? Lost and found? Focal point? Big and small? Overall simplicity? Complex shapes? Visual depth? Interesting shapes? Aerial perspective? Sophisticated color? Natural believability? What could be?
His readers questioned him about a few of the above and he continued. “Alluring counterpoint” is where there is a small amount of jumpy detail or “grace notes” that give a secondary area of interest without destroying the power of the whole. I often try for at least one area of AC. “Interlocking gradations” are smaller gradations or blends laid side by side or juxtaposed. They give added, often abstract, interest and mystery to otherwise ordinary subjects. General gradations are gradations or blends in a large area such as sky, water or the general base of an abstract, etc. Interposed with “flats” these general gradations go a long way toward strengthening compositions (also helping areas to “sit up” or “lie down”) and holding the eye. “Interesting surfaces” means texture, shine (final varnish) and evidence of the human hand at work. In my case I like an even, “handmade” look, not too artificially rough, not too slickly smooth. Inconsequential though these concerns might seem, they all contribute to a work’s visual “stickyness.” In the pursuit of making your own work unique, I should emphasize that while your list may have parts of other artists’ lists, your list needs to be your own list.
If you want to see what other readers mentioned as their lists, go to http://clicks.robertgenn.com/critique-self.php
My Abstract Art Class
Recently, I began lessons in abstract art. Since my landscapes are pretty much abstract, I thought perhaps it would help me to learn more about purely abstract art and how it is created. It is such fun – and almost anything goes.
The instructor begins with a critique of work we bring in and one thing she always does is rotate the work to see which way looks better for hanging – and it often isn’t the way you painted it. Then perhaps she or others has a comment or suggestion. She has a demonstration regarding the topic for the day and pictures to stimulate our creativity, and we work on our new paintings until almost the end of the class when we look at every one’s new work.
The painting today came from a still life of apples. Some are enlarged, some diminished or eliminated and/or the colors changed. And voila!
The Abstract Painter
This abstract painter just traveled from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to Fort Myers, FL, for the winter. I drove the almost 1200 miles mostly over this past weekend, finishing the trip Monday Morning.
It is so nice to be back in the land of summer with a high today of about 82 degrees. Now that I have taken the sheets off the furniture, put the table and chairs outside in the lanai, gone to the grocery and signed up for a class in abstract painting which starts next week, I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks. Since I paint abstract landscapes, I think it would be well if I knew more about abstract painting in general. I’ll keep you posted.
Abstract Landscape Paintings
Continuing Michael Albala’s discussion of abstract landscape paintings, he says: Every work of art – whether completely realistic, completely abstracted, or somewhere in between – relies on certain aesthetic devices: value, color, composition, shape and texture of the paint itself. In a representational work, these are firmly attached to the subject, giving it the descriptive structure necessary to be perceived as an actual subject.
As the painting becomes more abstract and the narrative subject becomes less obvious, the visual experience shifts increasingly toward the aesthetic devices themselves. Thus an abstract or semi-abstract landscape painting may be more about movement and color than it is about a waterfall or sunset (or tree).
Nature in the Abstract
Mitchell Albala, in his book Landscape Painting, discusses creating abstract landscape paintings from nature. He says that a landscape painting moves toward abstraction when its focus is less on descriptive content – identifiable things, such as a house or waterfall – and more on the aesthetics that are the building blocks of image-making.
His painting, Plunge, never entirely departs from its originating subject matter – it is still a waterfall – but by limiting the focus to a small segment of the cascading water, the aesthetics of pattern and movement become the primary visual event. The “subject” dances between the recognizable and the abstract, existing in both realms simultaneously.
Enhancing the Art Buying Experience
In the November 2011 issue of Professional Artist, Annie Strack has written an article entitled, “Enhancing the Art Buying Experience.” She lists 15 inexpensive things you can do to add value to your art and encourage buyers to become collectors. The following are a few:
Include a bonus gift with purchases, such as a pack of note cards (why not cards featuring your plein air paintings?), calendar, magnet or tote bag. Give discounts for multiple purchases. Reward your customers for referring you – bonuses could be discounts on future purchases or gifts such as reproductions or small original artworks.
Don’t skimp on art supplies and materials – make sure all supplies are archival. Offer free shipping – thus giving extra value without having to discount the value of the artwork. Offer trial periods for approval – artwork loaned this way is rarely returned. Perhaps most importantly, follow up on every purchase. Every buyer is a potential collector so treat them all like collectors and your relationship with them will continue long after that first purchase.
Analyzing the Plein Air Composition
If a potential scene offers the necessary spatial cues and presents its major shapes and values in a relatively organized way, then just making choices about how to position the picture window can lead to a good composition. However, there are times when a few adjustments would lead to a better composition. Here are a few types of alterations that are reasonable for the plein air painting. What makes them acceptable is the small degree of alteration.
Moving an element over to reveal what is behind it or removing a minor element that interferes with the overall composition would be acceptable. Other alterations would include: slightly increasing or decreasing the size of an element, adding small accents to the foreground to give it better perspective, or reshaping clouds so they suggest more perspective. Often what is needed is not so much an actual change, but an emphasis or deemphasis of what is already there, an adjustment of the relative strengths of the elements.