Sunday, January 11, 2009

Abstract Creativity

I have become interested in abstract painting so I read Abstract and Colour Techniques in Painting by Claire Harrigan this week. It is not a step-by-step instruction book. Instead, it gives narrative on how the artist makes decisions about her paintings. All of the painting in the book are Claire Harrigan's work and they are gorgeous. I especially love her use of bright colors, reminiscent of Matisse. She inspired me to start sketching to get some ideas for an abstract painting of my own. I used a photo I had taken at Shenandoah of a leaf on a fallen log for my sketches:





In the first sketch, I tried to incorporate too much detail. So in the next two sketches, I tried to simplify. I like the last sketch the best. I also drew a sketch of Belle sleeping:

1 comment:

Cynthia said...

I really enjoyed looking at your step-by-step process. Nice end product! Great use of color and line, though the first one almost feels as if it's moving, nice flow. :)

love-n-light