Diving into Abstract

I recently finished his large scale Abstract painting which I’ve called Love’s Awakening.

“Abstract art is actually one of the most difficult styles of art to master. It requires a sound understanding of the elements of design, an ability to trust one’s intuition and instinct and the courage to explore it.”OEAlexander

When I’m asked how I create an abstract painting it’s not always an easy question to answer. There’s several ways to abstraction. In this new work I first planned the colour palette , keeping to a just a few colours and mixing what I need from those. I love greys as they really make colour come alive. Greys can be soft, moody, restful or make a statement. Gotta have greys!

I had some thoughts in my mind of where I wanted the focus points to be and also where the light was going to come from. This is the part where my logical brain is doing it’s work. Then I shift gear into more the ‘intuitive’ side.

This is when I need to let go of fear of failure and just ‘dive into’ the process of creating.

Adding my own creative and visual language, with what we sometimes called ‘mark making’ is also an important part of the process. A series of lines and marks; organic, expressive and intuitive. I love that part, it’s like starting a conversation with the canvas and not being absolutely sure where it’s going to go.

Things may change slightly as I follow the intuitive flow. Sometimes a colour or compositional adjustment may just happen. The thing is, I don’t need to be afraid. I can follow my heart and not worry about he end result. What if it doesn’t work? Well, I have a big tub of white Gesso. I can paint over it and start again. There’s always tomorrow!

But this one worked and I loved every bit of the process of diving into Abstract.

Thanks for reading!

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www.OliviaAlexanderArt.com

Ciao for now,

LIV. x