New abstract, dedicated to Paula Hallman via flora Bowley

This spring I was looking around online and stumbled upon an artist that offers online courses and monthly newsletters to help you create colorful, energetic abstracts. I have been dabbling with abstracts for a couple of years on and off, but nothing has really lit my fire.

Until Flora Bowley. I read her blog and I viewed an online sample of one of her newsletters and I was just feverishly wanting to try it. I made my plan to start the very next day after seeing the video. I gathered my tools and had everything ready. I woke up at 4 AM (did not say I GOT up, just woke up). Plans for colors and compositions were running through my head. I was so excited.

I got up and got my coffee, did my daily devotional readings, and then checked my email and FB. It was on FB that I discovered that a dear artist friend of mine, Paula Hallman, had passed away. I don't see Paula but one week a year when we are neighbors at the Red River Revel in Shreveport, but we were great friends. I "got her" and she "got me". Her passing hit me harder than I could have imagined.

I thought to myself, "there is no way I will be able to paint today, much less explore a new style". But after a few more tears a realization hit me. Paula could not paint that day, but I could paint. And I did. I went on to paint straight through from 8 AM till 7 PM pretty much nonstop. Something I never do.

I discovered that I loved Flora Bowley's system. I love the music that she paints by, I love the freedom, the depth, the energy. I love that I can paint using her format, but in the end, the paintings look nothing like hers. They are definitely mine.

So I am sharing this first one that I did (with more to follow). In the "system" that Flora teaches one of the ways to start a painting is to write words on the canvas as the first layer. You then go on to add other layers on top which eventually cover up most of the bottom layer. But in this painting, when it was all over and I stopped to look at it.....you can still see part of one of the words I had started with.

I had written Paula.  

Love you girl!  I know your spirit is exploring the universe and you are seeing the places you have traveled to in your dreams...

Abstracts......ribbons of color................Oil Paintings

 36x36...............................Sunrise,Sunset

30x30.................................If the Rain Comes

I have done some abstracts such as this in the past on a much smaller scale.....such as 6x6 inches.  I was asked by an art consultant if I could do them on a larger scale.  I think these qualify.  I can't wait to play around with this some more.  

Very Large, Very Red Abstract......oil painting

24x36.....Oil Painting

This is a very interesting painting.  I painted it straight from my gut.  I let the paint tell me what to do.  When I was done I stood back and looked.  I don't know if it was because it was around Valentine's day or what, but it looked like a heartbeat on one of those machine readouts.  Interestingly I said this to a medical person that was viewing the painting and he said, "if this was a heart rhythm, this person would be in trouble!"  lol

 

Then I took the painting down to one of the galleries in New Orleans that represents me.  I just took it in and gave them no preconceived notion of what it was.  It is now hanging vertically and is entitled "The River".

That's what I love about abstracts....Everyone is entitled to see what they see.

Some Little Abstracts......oil paintings

12x12...."No No No"

8x8....Intersections I

8x8.....Intersections II

I am still finding my way in abstract-land.  Despite the fact that I am an artist, I do have some very organized, OCD, perfectionist tendencies.  I long to create some of the loose, colorful, emotive abstracts that I see around, but I tend to be too tight and restrained.  I used to feel this way about my representational work, but I have come a long way in loosening up in that arena, so I know the drill.  Just keep at it.  Paint, paint, paint!  Keep making baby steps in the right direction and you will one day get there.

 

Oh, and can anyone guess why the first painting is titled "No, No, No"?

Autumnal....Abstract OIl Paintings

 

8x8 set of three....oil on canvas....$75 each

 

These are three little abstracts that I did recently.  I was in love with the color combo and just sort of painted with an open mind...free flowing and intuitional.  I love these.  They would be so cool tucked up on a bookshelf.  They are even manly enough to go in a man's office,too.  As with most of these paintings, they are so much prettier in person.

Keys to it All....mixed media

 

10x30....mixed media.....$360

 

I loved my little experiment with the black and white series.  This one was done pouring paint on the canvas and then dragging it with an applicator to get the final product.  It is a less than predictable process resulting in a looser, more relaxed look. 

 

Today is the last day of the Red River Revel.  Time to take it down and pack it up and head home to see my family that I am missing so much!  : )

The Forest or the Trees....Abstract oil painting

 

20x24....mixed media.....$575

 

You've heard the saying "Can't see the forest for the trees..."  Well, as with all good abstracts, you see what you see and I see what I see.  I can't tell if I see the forest or the trees...

Seeing the Seasons.....oil on canvas.....#22 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

 

Set of Four 8x8's.......oil on canvas.....$300 (set)

 

In yesterday's post I began telling of my "intersection" of my normal way of painting and abstract painting.  I have always been drawn to color.  (my foyer is purple and my dining room is "watermelon"...'nuff said)  Sometimes when I finish a painting there are all these beautiful colors still left on my palette.  They just call to me...lol.  How "artsy" does that sound?!

 

For this set I just pretty much stood there and these paintings happened without my knowledge (or planning or direction).  Somewhere partway through the process I noticed that I had the four seasons developing so I did nurture that idea as I continued....it wasn't a total accident. 

 

So this is what I imagine....you are looking at the surface of the water....

 

the first one is summer....full blooming flowers reflecting from the water's edge.

 

second one is autumn....trees leaning over the water and their reflection mixes with the leaves that have fallen into the water and are floating.

 

then in winter....the icy sky reflects into the water and because I am such a fan of color we have some brave souls in their winter hats and scarves reflecting before they head inside where it's warm.

 

and for spring....bright greens of the new growth everywhere and since we are in Mississippi we have flowers very early in the season.

 

There you have it....Seeing the Seasons...four little tiny windows for you to look through any time you choose....no matter what the weather outside.

Abstract Intersection.....oil painting.....#21 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

 

8x8.....oil on canvas.....$75

 

Well this is a departure isn't it?  I have, for a long time, had an interest in creating abstract paintings.  I have heard more than one person say in passing "Anyone could do that!".  But I am here to say it is much hard than you think. 

 

When you do a representational painting that actually looks like something then it is easy to create an emotional response from the person....they have something they are familiar with to relate to.  But when you do an abstract.....you don't have the object or person and all the memories or emotions or impressions or feelings that might go along with something you have seen before.

 

All you have are form and color.  You still have to create a composition, and harmony and try to create interest without the help of the familiar. 

 

You'll hear more about my abstract diversions tomorrow.  For now this is an "intersection"....my thoughts are intersecting and you have a front row seat. 

Currents...Abstract Painting... Blues, Greens

Currents.........30x40.......Oil on Canvas.........$600

Okay, I went into my studio and just went with the flow (pardon the pun). I had these wonderful colors on my pallete and I just started playing with them and this emerged. I put this aside to figure out what I needed to do next. Once I walked into the room several times and saw it and loved it, plus got input from friends and family, I decided to leave it as is.

I think good pieces of art have several things in common and one of them is that they evoke an emotional response from the viewer. This one evokes such a feeling of calmness that I think it has merit based on that alone. Who can't use a little injection of calmness in their day?