Following a Stan Kurth demo

[Donna T]

I discovered the work of Stan Kurth recently and really like it. A demo in a magazine inspired me to give his method of building a painting a try. He starts with watercolors then adds ink and eventually "veils" of acrylic. I don't have ink so I used diluted black acrylic to make lines. I wasn't happy with the abstract result until a figure sort of appeared. It's still plenty abstract if not weird. I liked the process and will be playing around with it again. Here's the demo if anyone is interested. Keep scrolling down to the end of the article to find it.

10.5x10.5 on watercolor paper with watercolor, acrylic, charcoal and hard pastel.

 

[john]

Very cool Donna. I think I like yours better than his. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great way to approach an abstract.

Let's see more.

 

[Enyaw]

I like the coloring. The thing about abstraction is to find the balance between what you want to happen and what is actually happening. Stay with it.

 

[Iain]

The posture of the figure (left) is compelling. I am reminded of Katherine Bradford's approach to the figure.

 

[KreativeK]

Oooooh, this is so nice, Donna! Thanks for the link.

 

[Artyczar]

This is absolutely stunning Donna! It has such an ethereal, ghostly feel to it. It's really beautiful.

 

[trufflecat]

Lovely, with a great palette and nice layering. Some would call it the 'cruciform' design.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks John. I plan on doing more. They're fun!

Thanks Wayne. Part of my problem with abstracts is that I don't know where I'm going or what I want to happen.

Iain, I hadn't heard of Katherine Bradford and like what she does with figures. My husband looked at this and said, " what's with the alien next to the naked woman?" I hadn't intended for any figure to be there but he kind of showed up so he's part of the story I guess.

Thanks so much Kay. I think it's a very inspiring demo.

Thanks Ayin. I like how the figure appears and then disappears into abstraction.

Thanks Susan. It's a cruciform design alright. I was so lost with the abstraction so I figured I'd better give it some kind of structure.

 

[Enyaw]

Part of my problem with abstracts is that I don't know where I'm going or what I want to happen.

Donna, the beauty of abstraction is exactly that. It's more about reaction than planned action. I still need a model but most times once I get painting and have my values where I want them, I turn off the model and just play till I can't think of how the next stroke will help. You start to see how you nee a light here and and a dark there and shape becomes the least of your worries. A cup could be a single brush mark. You are painting light not objects. At least from my perspective. When I am done sometimes I would not recognize my model in the painting I have gone that far off track.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks Wayne. Planning is hard to give up and that's where I struggle the most. I will try to think of your "painting light not objects" with the next one. That's helpful!

 

[Terri]

Great job, Donna. Kudos to you for trying this new process- obviously it suits you well! This is really lovely. I love your colors, the flow, and your outlines.

I'm with you on the struggle with abstract, but you're tackling it and with a beautiful result. Yayyy!!! Respect!! I'm looking forward to seeing more!

 

[Perry]

You did a great job.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks Terri. It’s an enjoyable struggle and it’s ok that they don’t all work.

Thanks Perry.