An Idea for the 'Abstract Challenged' Artist

'Believe I'         4x4      pastel       ©Karen Margulis      $25

original 12x12 pastel used for my abstracts

I am Abstract Challenged.  I love a good abstract painting But every time I attempt to paint an abstract I struggle.  I realize it isn't easy and I admire artists who paint beautiful abstracts. Yesterday I stumbled upon a way to compose an abstract painting quite by accident. So today I spent the afternoon giving this idea a try. The result.....6 small abstracts and an enjoyable afternoon of experimentation!

What did I discover?  In preparing for yesterday's blog post on creating texture with compound dusting, I took a close-up photo of the painting just to illustrate the texture better. When I looked at this little close-up I saw a beautiful abstract design and interesting colors and textures.  This might have been the best abstract I ever did and it wasn't on purpose!  So that got me to thinking.  I can see interesting abstract designs in my paintings but I struggle with starting from scratch and doing something totally abstract. 

So why not paint something larger with the intention of studying it and finding smaller abstracts within the larger painting. It would be great practice for finding interesting designs, colors, textures and shapes. So I painted a simple 12x12 daisy using the Compound Dusting technique. I then examined the painting and was able to find 6 abstracts to cut out.  It was a great exercise in training my eye to see more abstractly which can only help me be a better representational painter....and maybe someday better with abstracts from scratch!

'Believe II'   2.5x3.5  pastel

'Believe III'   4x4   pastel

'Believe' IV'   4x6    pastel

'Believe V'    4x4   pastel

If you missed my post on Compound Dusting you can read about it HERE.  Be sure to sign up on the sidebar to get updates of new posts. And if you like a post please share!