Last week I blogged about my process creating 2 abstract paintings – 'Fire' and 'Water'. I ended by saying that abstract paintings require a lifetime of research. This week I am sharing photos of the finished paintings and providing the explanation of that crazy sounding claim.

When I was a child, my family did not take fancy vacations. If we went somewhere – it was camping. So those fun, carefree times with family and sometimes friends were spent outside. My family had a 18' boat, the kind that was good for skiing, tubing and fishing, so there was a lot of time in and by the water. Evenings were spent by the campfire until your eyes practically fell shut. Perhaps you are starting to understand where I am going with this.

I create abstracts by relying on my memories and feelings of those times. I don't need a reference photo because I have seen these images, meditated on them without realizing I was meditating on them, for years. Add in that abstract do not have to look exactly like reality and I have all the information I need stored in my brain.
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When we weren't camping, my brother and I were begging to for a walk in the woods. Our dad would take us for a walk on trials in a nearby greenspace. We could have stayed there till sundown if my dad would have let us. Looking at paintings in the Forest/Woods section of my gallery I see the influence of these times. The light shining through the leaves, a curve in the road, a distant light beckoning you forward.

This is the lifetime of research I bring to my work.  I keep my certifications current with hikes in local parks and nature reserves and vacations as wild as I dare to make them.  Truth be told, I stopped enjoying tent camping when I was the grown up in charge of the kids.  Now I understand why my mom was never as excited to go as we were!  I still get us into the woods, but we come back to an Airbnb.

We've all done it, walking through a gallery or art show saying, “I could do that”. An abstract seems easy. It doesn't HAVE to look like anything. Anyone could do it. Well, anyone can make a painting that doesn't look like anything, that's true. However, the rules of good art still apply, and you might be a little more likely to pull it off if you know something about what you are doing. So I, respectfully suggest – Maybe, you could not do that.

This Saturday I am debuting 2 large abstracts at Thoughtrobbers Gallery, at the Artsy Fartsy Market. In this blog, I will share some of the work in progress photos and information about my process. You can be among the first to see the finished paintings by attending on Saturday.

So how do you do it?

First you need a concept. Abstract yes, but usually an abstract about something. Recently, I was inspired by the 4 elements of matter. Fire, water, wind and earth - I am starting with Fire and Water. I completed a gorgeous fire motif 2 weeks ago, so I planned to use that technique again. I started with 2 small studies of 'Water' to decide which technique would go best in the series.  Once I decided which look I wanted to use, I had to practice making it work across a wide expanse.  Watercolor dries quickly, so I had to work quickly to ensure success on the final piece.  

At some point you have to decide on a color scheme. Throwing all the colors at the paper can quickly result in mud. Even if you do want to use all the colors, you'll want to consider which ones you will allow to mingle and blend and which should be kept apart. I mentioned that I had completed a successful fire painting – It was vivid and bright! However, I wanted to use a color that I could repeat in all 4 elements, and that brilliant orange was not what I had in mind.

For this series, I chose rust and turquoise hues. These will be the only 2 pigments for all 4 paintings and the color scheme will tie them together. Turquoise and rust for earth you ask? Why yes, mix them together and you get gray.  That gray will harmonize with the turquoise and rust pigments because those colors are mixed to create that gray.  A photo of the color swatches and my studies are in the gallery below.  

I'll spare you the rest of the endless details that went into this 2 artworks.  Hopefully, you get the idea that a bit more goes into an abstract then you may have thought. Not to mention, things that I can do quickly and consistently are a result of years of practice. If an artist makes it look effortless, chances are a lot of effort went into all the stages you never got to see. 

You still don't like it? - That's something entirely different.  You won't like it all and that's okay.  That still doesn't mean you could do it. 

One more ingredient in a successful abstract – A Lifetime of research – Wait, say what?
Final photos of Fire and Water and an explanation of this outrageous statement next week.
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Info about the show on Saturday below.  

Back in March, I wrote about the Hazards of Scaling Up, meaning that a successful small painting can be difficult to replicate in a larger size. You can read more about that here.

I have an example of successful small motif that I have not yet scaled up with equal success. Looking at it now, I see that it is not cohesive. It needs more overlap among the elements. Making everything even bigger than I did might have helped too, but that is hindsight. Also I think the charm of the small scale paintings is the fresh, simple look. Making the painting larger, I got much more literal and detailed, it was not the same.

So now what do I do? I made lemonade out of this lemon. Since the main issue is that the elements look separate, I decided to separate them. I made 8 small paintings out of this large one. Initially this painting was on a full sheet of watercolor paper, which measures 33 x 22. The daisies pulled out were an obvious choice. I then looked at what was left. I enjoyed adding elements to grassy sections, I am especially happy with the sea turtle! I rarely paint sea creatures, so this inspiration opened a new door for me. Can you find where the little paintings came from in the first try?

This week I am Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse's Artist of the Week! I am thrilled to be recognized for my work using reclaimed campaign signs and compact discs in my art. PCCR is a great source of materials and inspiration. You can read more about it my recognition by clicking here.  (posted July 3, 2022).

Friday, July 8, I will take part in the Farmer's Market at the Block Northway, through I Made it Market.

Saturday, July 9, I am participating in the Lawrenceville Art Crawl. This is my first year for this event and I am looking forward to it. It's a crazy long day, so if you attend, please stop by to say Hello. I'll be there from 2-9, and you can find me outside of Vestige Concept Gallery.  The gallery is having an opening reception that evening as well.  

Below is “Let It Burn” or “Landslide”. I wired the painting so that it can hang 2 ways. I'll have it at both events (unless it gets purchased).   You'll need to click the images to see the whole painting - it's tall, 44 x 21".​

A huge Thank you to Tristan McClelland for PA for 2 boxes of campaign signs!  I'll put them to good use.