UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #34

“Vast”

(Mixed Media) 

Size:  120x90cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

“Vast” is the complete opposite to my last week’s post which was purely abstract with no perspective at all. This painting is of Mooloolaba Beach on the Sunshine Coast, Australia near where I live.  It is an exercise in perspective and the composition was carefully planned before painting.  However you will note that the surf in the mid-ground is dribbled across the canvas to flatten out the painting and to keep it from getting too geometrical or realistic. 

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

This painting is an exercise to demonstrate perspective – the rear, middle and forward fields rocket off the canvas into the space inhabited by the viewer outside the picture plane.  The point of focus is the trawler on the horizon. The rectangle shape of the canvas also emphasises the horizontal line and exaggerates the perspective.

Yellow always represents joy for me and my palette here is yellow and blue and their compliments, violet and orange.  The painting is neither cold nor hot but tends to give a feeling of neutrality.  

Collage was used at the point of focus to depict a trawler and the paper was cut to repeat the geometry used in the overall painting.  No attempt is made to make the trawler look realistic – just its shape is shown.

The texture is moderately rough which adds to the feeling that the sea and the beach are natural and still able to dictate their moods.

I don’t enjoy doing such a structured painting, but from time to time, it is good to step outside of ones usual painting style and try something different.  I took my inspiration from Lawrence Daws.

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UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #33

“Thoughts Moving in Consciousness #1”  Satsang Series 

(Acrylic and Ink on handmade paper) 

Size:  104x70cm (unframed)

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

This painting is a meditation.  It is one of a series of paintings I did on this subject while I was in India.  It represents thoughts moving in and out of consciousness in the Now.

Art is a way of externalizing ideas and thoughts.  In this painting I am conveying to you the viewer, BEING through paint.  It is portrayed in an abstract way because the concept is abstract.  At the time of painting I was spending time in an ashram where meditation was practiced regularly.

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

Yellow always represents joy for me.  Therefore the painting is predominantly yellow.  Colour perception is always subjective and different individuals may perceive colours differently. 

I initially applied various coloured inks to the paper and then eliminated that which was unnecessary.  Inks have a very vibrant saturation and represent my thoughts as I observed them arising in my consciousness during the painting process. The overall composition feels balanced although the inks are applied randomly. This was because I overpainted that which was not necessary.

There is little texture to the painting as I wanted to give a refined finish.  There is purposely no perspective or design to the painting.  It is very subjective.  It represents the Now.

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UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #32

 

“The Range” 

(Acrylic) 

Size:  61x61cm

THE NARRATIVE BEHIND THE PAINTING:

This painting is an experiment in composition.  It deals with a limited pallet (yellow/purple/pink/white).  This composition invites the viewer to take a journey into the painting….a mysterious journey…where are the trees?  Being a regional practitioner I often address local environmental issues in my artwork.  This painting is no exception – it is devoid of trees.  In my personal life, the village in which I live is renowned for its leafy treed environment.  In fact the emblem that signifies Buderim is a Poinciana tree.  Buderim Mountain has a population of about 30,000 residents.  It has been settled for 150 years.  It has many imported trees that are mature and significant which resulted from planted by the pioneers to the mountain.  However the Qld and Local Governments have decided that trees should to be indigenous to be politically correct, and plan over the next five year to remove a large number of non-indigenous trees that grow in the Sunshine Coast region!  Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth.  Council is replacing these very old, large majestic trees with indigenous tube stock.  The ultra-purists in conservation circles refuse to see that in an urban area such as Buderim Mountain which is inhabited by a large population of people, that these mature leafy trees provide valuable amenity to the urban area as well as beauty.  I suppose this painting says something about this matter

Art techniques used to achieve this:

You, the viewer, ask yourself…“Why does this image visually work?”

It works because of the horizontal bands across the top (hills) and foreground.  The two horizontal bands are joined by a distinctive vertical (purple) connection forming something like an “H” on its side.  This gives the image stability when set within the square canvas.

What makes it an interesting composition is that the connecting vertical line is asymmetrical.  It also is slightly off centre and has contrasting colours (yellow/purple) on either side.

The composition takes the eye on a journey from left into the painting and then up to the apex of the range.

The painting is semi-abstract in that it relies on composition and colour rather than representational content.  Although the painting has perspective, the areas of colour are applied in a uniform way that creates the flat planes of colour that I favor.    (See previous post #31 for more details on this matter)

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UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #31

“Its about Oil…its about Water” 

(Mixed media and bitumen on ply board)  

Size:  90x90cm

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

Many of my paintings are conceptual which means that they are about ideas and not just decorative works.  I did this painting in response to the degradation of our environment by multinational companies and some governments that indiscriminately and blatantly plunder our Earth’s resources.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

The painting is almost monochromatic in that the blues blend from one to the other. 

The square support is ply board which has been primed with gap-filler to achieve the textured surface.  The collage in the centre re-states and  emphasizes the square shape of the painting.  I dribbled bitumen onto plastic and when dry then removed the plastic.  The dry bitumen shape was then adhered to the collage to represent oil. 

The dribble in the upper border is the only part where Orange (the complimentary opposite to Blue) is used to subtly draw attention to it. 

In this painting, less says more.  What do you think?  Does it achieve its aim?

The beauty of our environment is being allowed to slip away.  Beauty is nourishment for the soul.  This degradation of our environment has been demonstrated this week at a local level.  The beautiful natural forest in the centre of Buderim Village that I wrote about in posts #21/22/23 was destroyed this week - cut down by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. 

 

In its place will be a steel and timber viewing platform overlooking the back of a shopping centre.  My paintings are often about the environment... it is my way of saying that we have to be aware of what we are losing before it’s too late.  

http://www.buderimartstudio.com