Sept. Abstract Challenge (1)

Thank you Hermes. I hope I can be helpful. Go with it and go for it! I encourage going down a different road from the worn path. Branch out. It can be a bit instinctive at times. Sometimes you will stand there and not know what direction to take. That’s all normal. I have some tips.
Although I do think about a piece beforehand like Arty too, with lots of contemplation. I can do both. Just start, or start with an idea where to go. I have drawn a little bit beforehand, but I don’t find it always takes me very far if I get caught up in the painting. Unless there is something very, very specific I want to do and I know that beforehand. And like Enyaw sometimes I end up going where I didn’t expect to and it becomes something else. That is a surprise and enjoyable because it came out of me unexpectedly, and it wanted to “be”. Like a fun discovery. Or an insightful one.
My tip. I like to use my simple photo editor in my phone when I have several ideas that I want to visualize and am not sure which way to proceed. Sometimes I’ll take elements like colour from a picture. Or texture and I’ll put it together. See what I think. Or I’ve already started and I’m not sure how intricate or busy I want to be. But I have ideas. Maybe more white lines or maybe I want to outline something or block something in. I draw it in on my basic photo app. I’ll take a picture of my piece and play with it on my phone. So much easier than painting it and then having to go back and repaint. So I encourage this. It’s a lot faster too. Not sure about a colour to add or where to place something? Your photo app can be your friend!
And Enyaw, very often the next day I have a different feel for the piece I did the day before! I have a special suggestion for you because you are very fast and prolific. Do some that way. For sure. But I challenge you to slow down. I would like you to slow down and try a different route. That is what my professors would sometimes tell some students. And they develop more from that.
And that’s an idea for everybody. First of all approach it like you would like to. And then if you have time, and this is an open-ended challenge, I would like you to try one painting working opposite to what you usually do. I would say don’t plan, just do/ be for Arty for example. For the very fast people, take a more methodical and slower planned approach. Try glazes if you usually work alla prima for example.
This is how we have breakthroughs. So do what you would like to do first and then I’d like you to challenge yourself to do something opposite. If that makes you a little nervous or a little uncomfortable, that’s probably a good thing. Lets push to new individual frontiers! I find this often serves an artist well.
 
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Ok. Going for a mini holiday this week so tying up loose ends so I can key in on what I need for the trip. Anyway, here is my offering. This is 9 x 12 inches oil on paper .. Alla Prima .. painted Sept 1/24. .. I guess it would fit under for love of colour.

I originally stained the paper with yellows and purple blues and was intending to do a soft abstract rendering of flowers. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the stain but it would have worked for my intentions. However, once I started adding the pure color over the stain, things started shaping in my mind. I abandoned any thought of making something I wanted to in lieu of helping what I was seeing develop. Mostly, while I was painting, the images in my mind were boats and trees and so I let my knife make marks that to me represented boats and trees. I can tell you I use Ultramarine Blue, Quin Magenta, Yellow Ochre, Indian Yellow, Lemon Yellow, and Titanium White.
Well, I just saw this now and I am so glad you went off your typical subject of flowers! You went with trying something different. You followed that instinct. 👏🏻I’d also say not just colour but texture is what I pick up from your piece. I find your work always dynamic and here again it is very strong. I love your colours- that yellow gold is beautiful. Against the purple it is a great combination! And that makes sense if people pay attention to the colour wheel. This is basic colour theory doing its wonderful work! The two colours work very well against each other because they are opposite on the colour wheel. Complementary colours.
Great job! We are off to the races!
Have a great holiday. I hope you’ll come back and submit some more work!🙂
Ps. For everyone. Did you know that if you get the perfect opposite on the colour wheel in value and hue and you put them beside each other with no space, you will see movement? They will lose hue if mixed. Become grey. And of course, they have the highest contrast beside each other. It can be used to great effect in your work.
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That’s a beauty, Wayne! I love the colors and the way they interact with each other. There a lot to see in this one and it has a happy mood as well. Have a nice vacation!
 
I can't decide on any of the suggestions so maybe I'll try to do all of them in one painting. :) I'm thinking that only red and green should result in a mysterious mood of greens, grays and reds. Might be pretty ugly though so not sure about that. There will be a figure and a building. What's an abstract again? :)

I looked it up and AI says this

Abstract art is art that doesn't accurately depict reality, but instead uses shapes, colors, lines, and forms to convey meaning. The word "abstract" means to take the essence of something, and abstract art abstracts the essence of a realistic subject and reinvents it.

Abstract art can be based on an object, figure, or landscape, but with simplified or schematized forms. It can also be art that uses forms that have no source in an external visual reality, such as geometric shapes or gestural marks.

The main purpose of abstract art is to let the viewer interpret the meaning. Good abstract art should evoke a certain emotion from the viewer, and the viewer should be able to see the artist's personality in the piece.
 
Great definition. You don’t have to use those colours together. Or at all. It is magenta, not red.
I encourage you to look at all manner of abstract art because that might get some of your juices flowing that you will gravitate to. Set off a spark. I don’t know if you can do all the themes in one. On the other hand, you can give it a go, although I think that’s a lot to take on.😉
Sometimes you have to let a few ideas percolate for a little bit. Maybe you’d like to do something with lines? Shapes? Sometimes once you start, you can start building on it. It can then take off.
 
I am learning a great deal from reading the comments, suggestions, and guidelines in this thread. This is one of the reasons I joined Creative Spark, so thank you! This has caused me make a resolution: some time soon I will try to make something that deviates from my usual modus operandi. How it usually goes is that I feel compelled to express my feelings about something. For example, I may see a rock formation or the textures on a corroded sheet of metal. I then devise some kind of scaffolding or framework that will act as a skeleton, which is usually the underlying structure of lines in my paintings. I use graphics applications that run in Windows on my desktop PC to work out a pleasing composition. I usually have a clear idea of the colour scheme in my head. This is the opposite of the alla prima work flow; it is more like the technique used by most of the Old Masters. My way is to build up many layers of glazes and scumbling, which is a slow process. The spontaneity comes in during the actual painting process, where I make colour decisions on the fly and welcome happy accidents while building on the carefully considered scaffolding I have worked out so carefully. There will be areas of planned texture, but I absolutely love the accidental textures that may appear as well.

So, inspired by what I have read here, I want to try a more spontaneous alla prima approach, but for this challenge I will use my usual methodical technique.
 
That is wonderful Hermes!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I understand what you meant about building your scaffold first and then building on top of that. The planned and unplanned and how that determines your technique. You have explained it very well! An artist should use all the tools at their disposal to help them. Like photo or graphic programs on computers/ phones. Can be in the simplest ways just to help you visualize. You can really brainstorm there and try different things without a cost to your work. Thank you for telling us of your process. This can be so helpful for others.
I have seen some beautiful rust and corrosion that would make wonderful abstracts. You can find the beauty in anything even if it’s not traditionally beautiful. At university I took a geography class and boy did I get excited when I saw all the different types of topography maps and such. They had been printed out on 12 x 12 paper in black-and-white and the artist in me saw the beautiful abstract possibilities. I made my prof grin when I said I needed to take copies of them because they were inspiring me for my art class! He gave me permission.🙂
I’m really happy to hear that you’re getting something out of this thread. That is so great to hear. But I’m even more thrilled that you were willing to try something different at some point soon! It is inspiring to see others trying, and hearing that they’re going to expand their horizons. Get out of their comfort zones. I do like the energy of creation, especially when we have to push into new areas. Can’t wait to see what you all come up with on your first pieces and your secondary challenge as well.🙂🙂🙂
 
Hi Dave. 👋🏻
Pls tell me more about your piece.
What theme did you start with? Your jumping off point? Is it a work in progress or complete?
You kept a literal reference with the hearts. Was that your intention?
A friendly reminder that In this challenge we are encouraging no literal references as it is all about abstracted thought/ ideas.
 
Yep...sorry...it is complete. To give away the magic....
Love can turn us upside down, hard to hold on to, often imperfect, my fingers filled with blood my heart pumps to them, is what I made this image with ( no brushes ), dark border represents barriers and hands up, I surrender.
 
Wow, see what a difference an explanation makes! Thanks Dave. No apologies necessary! This would fall under the category of partial abstraction. You have a strong theme indeed. You have tapped into strong emotions and an artistic/ poetic way of describing these feelings. You have represented that with a simple depiction. I don’t think it shows enough of the depth you convey. Certainly can point to the colour of the lines of the hearts to represent certain things, but most people won’t catch that. That to me is a starting point to push this piece further. Right now it looks a bit decorative. Viewers cannot feel the fight or submission. You have a great start here because you clearly have something to say. Something very rich and very full of emotion that can go farther than what this shows. I encourage you to look at other examples of abstract work that show deep emotion in a different visual way. It is a good start as it is a very different way of thinking and doing art. So i appreciate your thought that has gone into the symbolism. But it could be so much more if you are willing to push further. Thank you for a great start. A great theme you are not fearless to try to express.👍🏻🙂

A good description of definitions of abstract art and partial abstract and non representational art is here. With a few examples of how it developed over time.

From The Spotted Whimsy
 
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Nice starts here, and a wonderful conversation going. I love it!

Wayne, I really like your piece, especially the diagonal lines you got with your knife blade and the square cube forms all in between. All in all, it makes for a greatly designed piece without it being a literally "designed" painting. It has just enough subtleties. The colors and blends are so aesthetically beautiful, which you are so good at with your flower pieces. It's quintessential Wayne and a successful abstract. Very well done, sir. ♥️

Dave, I love your upside-down heart composition. I got it right away! It's simple and says everything. :)
 
That's a powerful little heart, Dave! I like it for its simplicity too; sometimes that's the best way to get a message across. The dark border really sets if off visually.

Well, this one was an experiment, as always, and it was a challenge for me to steer it toward a theme while keeping it abstract. I usually start with no particular idea in mind and see what appears. So this is a real challenge for me. I started another one - twice- and am learning that you must have some direction in mind or else you'll just wander aimlessly, which is not necessarily a bad thing but it does eat up a lot of paint! This one is acrylic paint applied to watercolor paper with a roller/brayer with marker pen for lines. I was inspired by Night and Texture and noticed that it also has a bit of an Urban feel to me. 7x9

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Well done Donna. I think it is a real success! I liked what you chose to use to make your marks. It has that beautiful mystery and depths of nightshade that draws a viewer in.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Do you think at some you will try another theme? I hope so.
Oh yes, so true about no plan can eat up your paint! Lol Use your basic photo editing on your phone or iPad or computer to help lay in some colours or marks to see if you like that direction you’re going in first. Saves paint.
Thank you also for sharing your thoughts and processes with us.🙂
 
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I will be slower getting my work done and posted. I took a terrible fall at 7 am. Smashed my face on the medical table then the corner of a metal step to get into bed, sprained my right wrist and forearm ( I thought i broke it), and shoulder, bruised the right side of body and very badly on the knee too and also my other arm/ wrist. Big bruises and lumps on forearms/ face. Red eye. Getting up was excruciating. My daughter calked my hubby to say she has never heard screaming like that. I am usually tough and calm. Lingering effects from my meds from a medical procedure yesterday definitely affected me. Very dopey. I fell face first completely asleep. Couldn’t reach my needed glasses or phone, or get up myself. Hey Siri would not recognize my voice in that state. Dear daughter kept pulling on the painful forearm to try to get me up. Telling me to just “ Be calm.” That was as calm as it was getting!🤕 There was no way I was having those lovely fireman come to get me up! Not if I could help it. Thank God she was home. I forgot she was.
Medicated myself and its helped pain and movement.
The irony was yesterday the hospital asked if I have been having falls. Nope! 😋
Maybe i should express that physical shock in abstract form! Lol
Anyways, that is why I will be slower than I would like creating and showing my work. But i have ideas (let me at ‘em!). Staring down my canvases… The wonderful work I have seen so far has made me eager to get started!🙂
 
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I’m so sorry to hear that you fell and got so banged up, Christine! How scary for all of you and I’m glad you didn’t break any bones! Someday it would be interesting for you to try to express all of this in an abstract - but you probably need to just rest and heal first. ❤️

Thanks for the kind words about my little attempt. I do want to try another one but it’s hard to know where to start. Watching YouTube videos is both helpful and confusing. 🙄
 
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