Posts Tagged ‘colorful abstract art’
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!
Just for Laughs
Robert Genn, Canadian painter, in his twice-weekly newsletter recently discussed humor in art. He said he had received emails asking, “If it’s funny, is it art?” or, “does art have to be so serious?”
George Condo is one of the hotties in the New York art scene. Critics have described his oil paintings as “goofy,” “really bad,” “creepy” – you get the picture. Meanwhile, the public loves it. At a current show at the New Museum, collectors are buying his work like crazy, everything is selling out, and Condo is enjoying a life of luxury.
As Marshall McLuhan once said when asked about a definition of art, “Art is what you can get away with.” Genn says, “Be funny. Maybe a few laughs is what’s needed right now.” James Kalm noted, “I often find myself at cocktail parties, fantasizing that the person I am talking with is some sort of Condo monster,” Studios, ataliers, art galleries and museums are all full of Condo characters! We’re just not able to see them clearly!
Teacher
My teacher for the abstract art class I just finished was Shirley Blake. Her art can be found at www.shirleyblake.com and she does abstract art as well as traditional paintings in acrylic.
All of her paintings are colorful and happy. Even the traditional paintings have much more color that most others that I have seen. Her abstracts are subtle, in a variety of colors, and with small items of interest scattered throughout the painting.
Shirley is an experienced artist and teacher. Her teaching included handouts explaining some of the basics of art for those who missed them earlier in life. She also did demonstrations to illustrate the point of each lesson and made wonderful suggestions at the two critiques each day. Her teaching was very organized and helpful to me. I learned much and loved each day of her class!
Studio Time – 2/8/11
Since tomorrow is the last day of my abstract art class, I needed to finish the two paintings I’m taking. I started the Textured Tulips in class last week, and after painting in the tulips at home, needed to take it to class for critique.
Also, last week at critique, I was to repaint the background of the Overlapping Frames painting in white. I have done that – 3 times, to be exact – in order to cover the neutral tan which I had painted it originally. Also, I repainted the colored frames with newly purchased, better quality paints from Teacher. Now, it really sparkles! Yesterday’s photo does not quite do it justice!
A Blob of Color or a Work of Art?
Impressionism was just one of the first purposeful departures from realism, which had held sway in the art world for hundreds of years. While impressionists added rich color and strong emotional responses to realistic objects and settings, abstract artists took a different, more radical approach.
Abstract art was born out of the idea that art needed to bear only a slight resemblance to its source material – or perhaps none at all. When one views a work of total abstraction, it’s impossible to get a frame of reference based in reality. Mark Rothko is one of the best known painters in the abstract expressionist school. Although his most famous paintings could be accurately described as horizontal bands of color, they do the job that all unique abstract paintings strives toward. They evoke a certain feeling.