The contrast of two opposites - Simplicity and Complexity always fascinates me. In this video I demonstrate how I create a complex surface and then create a composition by using simple shapes.
Using Collage, Paint, Acrylic Ink, and Paint pens, I build the surface in layers and then go about finding a composition made of simple shapes. Once the complex surface is created in this demonstration, the focus switches to simplifying to create an interesting and integrated composition.
If I could tell you the ONE thing that improved my work the most - this is it. Working on a group of paintings together improves results because what you learn in one painting can be directly applied to others. In this video, I show you how I do this by using 5 paintings in mid-process to demonstrate how ideas can be applied to multiple works and how my paintings took big leaps forward as a result.
In this week's Vlog I have made a small painting in my sketchbook following my process of building up layers. But what it demonstrates as well as building an interesting surface, and the introduction of the use of stencils is how to give strength to the hero's in the painting. Prioritizing the colour heroes as well as the shapes and elements in the painting that are important to the success of the composition.
One of the ways I do this when I'm building my layers at the beginning of a painting is to embed the work with drawings, words, shapes, colour, and collage that has direct relevance to my life at that moment.
Watch the Vlog to see this process demonstrated in my work, and stick around to the end to see bossy old Ginny.
Abstract painting can often look like 'wallpaper'. It has no focal point and the viewers eye is left to roam often unable to discern what the artist wants them to see, feel or gain from their painting. What these paintings need is a hero. Here I talk about deciding on a hero when developing an abstract painting.
