Abstraction . . .

1. Abstraction . . . and its’ varying realities.

2. What is Abstraction? • Abstraction (from the Latin abs, meaning away from and trahere, meaning to draw) is the process of taking away or removing characteristics from something in order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics. • Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete.

3. Famous Abstract Artists • Although everyone seems to have their favorite artist, their are many abstract artists who have their own special style and personal nuances shown in their artwork. • Here are some you may or may not have heard of and their most famous pieces to follow:

4. Pablo Picasso • Famous for his work in Cubism, it is debatable whether Picasso’s work be classified as abstract or not, though many seem to think so. It is certainly true that his artworks and practice of Cubism and participation in the Cubist movement have, at the very least, paved the way for all future abstract painters. His most famous paintings include “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” “Guernica,” and the “Sleeping Gypsy.”

5. Pablo Picasso • Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

6. Paul Klee • A German Swiss painter, Klee was well practiced in many styles including expressionism, cubism, orientalism and surrealism. He wrote in detail about color theory, was well acquainted with Wassily Kandinsky and taught at the German Bauhaus school for art. His most famous work is the “The Twittering Machine.”

7. Paul Klee • The Twittering Machine

8. Franz Marc • A German painter and printmaker, Franz Marc is largely considered one of the most important painters of the German Expressionist art movement. A founding member of ‘The Blue Rider,’ a journal the was made up of collaborating artists. Many of his works including animals in natural settings, Marc’s most famous works include “Large Blue Horses” and “The Fox.”

9. Franz Marc • Large Blue Horses

10. Gustav Klimt • An Austrian symbolist painter, Gustav Klimt was an extremely active member in the Vienna Secession movement. A well-rounded artist, Klimt was a painter, sketcher, muralist, and more. The subject of most of his works was usually the female body and he was known for the provocative and evocative themes in his paintings. His most famous paintings include “The Kiss”, “Gold Coin” and “Portrait of Adele Bloch.”

11. Gustav Klimt • Portrait of Adele Bloch

12. Salvador Dali • A Spanish surrealist painter, Salvador Dali is one of the most famous painters of the surrealist movement. Known for the bizarre themes in his paintings, Dali was well-practiced in many different artistic mediums including sculpture, painting, film, and photography. His most famous pieces include “The Persistence of Memory” and “Sleep.”

13. Salvador Dali • Sleep

14. Wassily Kandinsky • A Russian painter, Wassily Kandinsky is credited as creating the first purely abstract painting. Originally a student of law and economics, Kandinsky did not begin his painting and art studies until the age of 30. He taught at the German Bauhaus school for art and was friends with Paul Klee, another teacher there and fellow artist. His most famous pieces include “Autumn in Bavaria” and “Composition X.”

15. Wassily Kandinsky • Composition X

16. Abstract Painting #1 Using the elements of art for Inspiration

17. Your first Abstraction will be based upon a high degree of abstraction For this abstraction you will experiment with: • Composition(the arrangement of the elements using the principles to organize the work to create an aesthetically pleasing work of art.) • Defining boundaries (areas enclosed by line) • Filling those boundaries with principles of pattern expressing movement and rhythm. • Color to express and communicate

18. Where do I start with Abstraction? • Using a viewfinder look through it around at your environment, moving in and out from your eyes. You might see a collection of abstract shapes in the corners of a room or anywhere a number of objects meet.

19. Where do I start with Abstraction? • The next step is a good way to establish a foundation for an abstract work of art. • Draw a series of lines on the page using the four weights of pencil separately to overlap and layer lines. • Next, take the view finder and search for an interesting arrangement of lines to form your composition – outline it and find another.

20. Abstract Painting #2 Using Nature as a Source for Inspiration

21. Contemporary Wildlife PaintingsColorado Artist Carol Hein

22. Contemporary Wildlife PaintingsColorado Artist Carol Hein

23. Nature as a source of inspiration • http://www.alisoningram.co.uk/

24. Abstract Painting • When you’re looking for inspiration for an abstract painting, you need to change the way you look at the world around you. You need to stop seeing the big picture and look for details. To look at the shapes and patterns which occur, rather than focusing on the actual objects.

25. Abstraction • Once you’ve seen something that strikes you as interesting, you need to focus in on that, and explore the possibilities. Don’t be satisfied with your first thought. Look at what caught your attention from different angles -- from the sides, from higher up, and lie on the ground for a frog’s eye-view.

26. Where do I start with Abstraction? Rather than naming separate objects, notice relationships between them – for example, looking out across a parking lot you may pick out all the red cars in a car park that form a pattern … or you might perceive the similarity between a sail on a yacht and a butterfly wing. Working abstracting requires sensing the patterns and drama around us formed by light and shadow – the patterning and rhythm in music – the shape of objects grouped together or overlapping and infinitely more.

27. Beginning your abstract wildlife painting 1) Write down words that come to mind when you think of the animal(s) in your chosen photograph. Don’t sensor yourself just write freely. For example, if I were describing a horse I might choose the words gallop, wind, fast, grace, jump.

28. Beginning your abstract wildlife painting • Draw the outline of the image line for line imposing those thoughts as you draw into how you hold the pencil and lay down your lines. • Adorn the animal with shapes and further strokes of your pencil. Add color to the animal with paint or oil pastels. Choose a color that reminds you of the words you expressed to describe the animal. You don’t have to pick a naturalistic color. • Continue developing your painting depicting the rest of the composition.

29. Completing your Abstract Painting • Once your painting is complete try another working freely to express the shapes and patterns you observe in the reference.