UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #64

What a lovely surprise!  This week I ws informed by LinkedIn – a professional social networking site – that I was one of the top 10% most viewed profiles for 2012.  This is very gratifying because it means that my blog, Understanding Abstract Art is reaching a large number of people globally.

For those who are new to my blog, I write and post my blog weekly.  I  take one of my paintings and discuss what it is about and what artistic techniques I use to achieve the finished piece.  I feel this education of the public on abstract art is important because I have heard all too often the words “even a child could do better” said of some of the world’s most renowned artworks.

On the same day I post my blog, I put a short comment and my link onto LinkedIn and also Facebook. 

Thank you LinkedIn for advising me of this.  To know that I reach an audience of global proportions is very encouraging.  Painting is a very insular activity if, like I do, the artist paints alone.  

“Portrait - Oliver” 

(Watercolour) 

Size: 25x25cm

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

Now to the painting I am discussing this week: - I have chosen a portrait of my grandson Oliver.

It is my intention to paint portraits of all my grandchildren and those daughters who have not had children.  Although I can achieve a likeness, I find portraits too restrictive for my creative temperament to do them on a regular basis – so those which I do are a “labour of love”. 

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

I have chosen watercolour for this portrait because it is a “soft looking” medium and ideal for expressing the innocence of a child.  However watercolour does not give one the freedom to paint over, so I initially gridded up the page so as to get the features in the right place.  I used 300g watercolour paper because the heavier paper does not buckle as much.  I wet the paper but don’t stretch it because I like to be able to manipulate the runny watercolour from time to time by moving the paper to a different angle to achieve happy accidents.

As you have probably guessed, the painting was taken from a photo.  This is mainly for convenience because a small child is hardly going to stand still for long.  Painting from a photo is acceptable, as is also projecting.  I do not have a projector nor do I foresee a time when I will get one.

My watercolour palette for this portrait is as follows:-

Aureo. Yellow

Rose Madder

French Ultra Blue

Cad. Red

Windsor Blue (or Phthalo Blue)

Indian Red

Aliz. Crimson

Veridian

Cobalt Blue

Light Red

Windsor Green (or Phthalo Green)

                 -o0o-

Background:               1^st Glaze –  AY

                                    2^nd Glaze – RM

                                    3^rd Glaze -   RM

Shirt:                            FU

Shadow on shirt           FU + AC

Neck and Face:            Glaze AY

Shadows on Face:        RM

                                      V

                                      CB

Shadows on Neck:        AY+V

Hair                               (AY+ CR) + V

                                      (AY +AC) + V

It’s good to keep note of the colours used so that you can accurately mix the colours at a future time if you need to do so.  I often do this with both watercolour painting and acrylics and this practice has proved very useful.   

Why don’t you have a go at portraits?  It is in the doing and not the reading about that one learns how to paint.  Then on another occasion try something abstract – try to capture a feeling. 

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #60

“Quantum Sufficit”

First Prize in the Clairvaux Collage Art Prize

In the AMP Collection

(Acrylic) 

Size:  98x1.08cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING:

This painting won first prize in the Clairvaux Collage Art Prize.  It then became part of the AMP Collection when it was purchased to hang in the AMP Boardroom at Waterfront Place, Brisbane.

The meaning of “Quantum Sufficit” is “as much as is necessary”.  Most of my abstract paintings are pared down to the minimum.  I generally start with much more detail but by the time I have eliminated that which is not necessary it is reduced to its minimum.  So I suppose this painting represents the essence of what I am trying to do with my art  – to make it as simple as possible – a bit like Scandinavian design.

Art Techniques used to achieve this:

This painting could be hung any way because of its balanced composition.  However for the purpose of this blog I will discuss it in the horizontal which is shown here. 

I do not sign my abstract paintings on the front of the canvas because I prefer to leave it optional as to which way the owner prefers it to be hung.

The colour Red is a dominant colour and usually gives the feeling of energy.  Recently someone who was looking at a “red” painting of mine, thought that I was feeling angry when I painted it.  The viewer can not presume that the colour of a painting symbolizes the emotional state of the artist.  Colours mean different feelings to different people and the viewer may be projecting their own emotional state onto the artwork.  The title may give some indication as to the meaning of an abstract painting but generally it is better to ask the artist.  Some artists however, do not like to give an explanation of their art.  Nevertheless it is good to keep in mind that when you view an artwork, that you are aware that it’s a “two way communication” and that you “own” your emotional state of being as part of your perception.

It was intended that this painting although predominately Red, portrays a calm feeling.  This is conveyed through the horizontal emphasis in the composition.  Horizontal lines have a calming influence on our psyche probably because of its association with nature and the horizon.  A diagonal emphasis would give the viewer a more unsettled feeling.  Vertical would be more energetic but less unsettling.

This artwork is not meant to represent anything in particular however it is possible that people try to interpret it as being a landscape – this is not the case.  It is purely abstract and was originally done as a colour and composition exercise.  It has no emotional content and is purely a cognitive exercise in painting.  This is not always the case with many of my paintings however, as my readers would know.  

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #58

“Oriental Inspiration” SATSANG SERIES

Acrylic on handmade paper

70x104cm  (unframed)

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

I have been to India on three occasions and stayed in an ashram for one year on one of those visits.  It was during that year that I started the Satsang Series.  “Satsang” is a Sanskrit word.  Sanskrit is the ancient classical language of India.  Satsang is to do with the spiritual search for Enlightenment and loosely means “meeting in Truth”.  This painting is therefore a meditation and is meant to convey that state to the viewer.  Abstract art is an ideal medium to express such an abstract concept.  Meditation (for both Buddhist and Hindus) is achieved by sitting quietly and observing one’s thoughts moving in and out of consciousness without judgement – thus one is in Awareness in the Now.

Artistic techniques used in this painting:

Why do I consider this to be a “good” painting?  It has a spontaneous element to it which suggests that the painting was created in the moment.  This approach to painting is not unlike the Zen use of calligraphy to express a similar practice.  The fact that it looks spontaneous and maybe has been done spontaneously does not take way for the “value” of the action.  Sometimes things that look easy are oft times made to look that way because the practitioner has done the task over and over again.  Take ballet dancing as a case in point.  I believe that only through art(s) can the truth of a non-shared experience be transmitted.

Red and Green are complimentary colours.  They also can be considered opposites.  The Yellow represents the “nugget of gold” one finds when one observes one’s thoughts.  They float in a sea of Green with splashes of Red punctuating the tranquillity. 

The composition is balance which adds to the tranquil feeling it conveys.  Its simplicity also contributes to the essential meditative nature of the painting.  Do you think it achieves this?  Have I been successful in conveying an abstract concept to you, the viewer?

 http://www.buderimartstudio.com

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #56 (Christmas)

“The Black Madonna” – #1 and #2 -Two Sculptures

#1  Cement – plaster cast from clay

#2  Clay, Das and Paint  

35cm high approx.  (both) 

The Story of the two Madonnas: 

Like all good stories it starts with “Once upon a time...” and being Christmas time, it is about the Madonna.

This was a time just before I went to study art therapy at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.  Although I had a strong academic understanding in psychology and art I was required to complete a small sculpture course to fulfil the art requirements.  This is where “The Black Madonn #1” was born.  She was fashioned in clay and then covered in plaster of paris and finally cast in cement.

Before I left Australia, I took photos of her and in the first year of being in Louisville, I started another “Madonna” in clay, however because of the way she was built it was not possible to fire her in a kiln because I did not have the equipment or the space to do so.

Upon my return to Australia a few years later, I discovered that my “Madonna #2” had not travelled very well.  The sculpture was smashed in over 70 pieces.  I reconstructed her using Das which is a self drying synthetic clay which served to stick the whole head together.   I then painted her with black matt acrylic to cover the obvious damage.  She thus became “The Black Madonna”.  Her fragile state remains today as she is impossible to fire. 

Both Madonnas are similar but have character differences.

Artistic techniques used in these sculptures:

I am not a sculptor so I can’t talk about techniques in depth.  Nevertheless I am artistic and I really enjoy doing these two pieces for my own self expression.

Thus ends the Christmas story of the two Madonnas. 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2013 and thank you for your support over the last year.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com