ABSTRACT PAINTING : Freedom From Reality

Art is the medium of expressing the freedom. The abstract artists paint objects ignoring their real shapes; they make colours a central issue, in a sense the colours are allowed to act independently. These artists would use a technique, depicting forms and combination of colours which hardly exist in real world. These artists provoke the viewers response without using conventional forms.

Abstract -by Galope de Caballos

Every painting or an art-piece is an artistic attempt for visual communication. An artist desires to reveal the imagination he or she has in mind. The artist would use the essential characteristics of colours like contrast and Harmony. Putting movement in the shapes, an artist would try infusing liveliness into the painting, allowing the colours to be carry much rebel and independence. While painting, the abstract artist uses all of these tools of the trade. He or she takes help of different forms and colours for recreating the imagination on the canvas.

Abstract artist might not miss the pictorial element in a painting, but he or she depicts the aspect independent of reference you would find in surrounding. Though they would depart completely or partially from the real imagery of actual objects, the freedom the abstract artists experience make them more courageous. In America the Abstract Artists group was established in 1936; till then the abstract art was viewed with critical opposition. There was little support from art galleries, too.

Art of Abstract Painting

The art movements of romanticism, impressionism and expressionism have greatly affected and positively contributed to the development of abstract art of painting. The master painters who practiced mainly the post modernism style of painting were Paul Gauguin, George Seurat, Paul Cezanne and Van Gogh they had very big pool of the follower artists. The paintings and the styles of these painters have enormous effect on the art of abstract painting.

While holding the palate of bright and cool colours in hand, the abstract painter wanders with imagination. Here an artist tries simplifying the object to paint. While doing so he would simply exaggerate the size of the object to be painted. He might reshape the form in such a way that it would make almost impossible for the viewers to identify it without the help of a person who knows about the art of abstract painting deeply. Freedom is the word an artist feels while applying the shades and hues of paints. And he or she emits that feeling through the language of brushstrokes and colours. These are the artists who let their artistic prowess to fly in a limitless sky and descend on a wonderful piece of art.

The final painting of an abstract artist is not a painting of the object per se. But it is an individual interpretation the artist has done about size and colour of the object. While looking at an abstract painting, the viewers do not see the objects or real scene. They see the interpretation of an artist that has been transferred on canvass.

The word ‘abstract’ literally means ‘to consider as a general quality or characteristic apart from specific objects or instances’. The artist who paints the abstract paintings does the same. These abstract artists, while standing before a blank canvas, think apart from the concrete reality of an object they are going to paint.

Sammy Davis Junior, Oil, 1980 -by Dagmar Anders

Each artist has different views of the world. Instead considering the physical appearance of objects, the abstract artists emphasize on lines, colours and geometrical forms of the objects. While dealing with interrelationship of these aspects, an abstract painter keeps exploring until he or she succeeds in extracting the characteristics of a particular subject. For an example these artists would investigate about the objects regarding several core issues, say the anger or joy embedded within a face of a man or a woman. The artworks of abstract artists are called as ‘non-representational art’, too. It is because while working under this style of painting, an artist turns more adventurous in using colours and lines, defining the shapes of objects differently.

The subjects of painting in abstract style of painting remain same as in the other styles. Abstract artists chose subjects like still life, landscapes and figures, buildings and flowers. But here the artists create difference while interpreting these subjects in relationship of their colours and shapes. In the case of using media there is no difference. Abstractionists use all the means available in the field of art of painting, like watercolour, oil, pastel, gouache acrylic and collage.

After using all the techniques in the above forms and manners, the abstractionist create delightful world through the stunning images they conceive in their minds and transliterate on canvases. In the above paintings, the German-Austrian artist Dagmar Anders has tried depicting the inner characteristics of a man. Here the colours scheme applied and the bold strokes and lines painted tell much about the nature of the person so portrayed. (Images courtesy: By Devileux (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia, Nd Dagmar Anders [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia) ]

It was the last days of nineteenth century. The days of great artists like Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro and Cezanne were almost ended. But as half of the earth always remains lighted, in another part of the world it was the time of a new beginning. The American art in general and USA’s painting in particular has started writing the history of art in its own colors ( yes, colors and not the colours!). The artists in USA have come out of the period of the 'borrowed brush strokes'.

Georgia O'Keefe : Painting New Path of Abstract-ism

During these days, somewhere in Wisconsin, a girl of thirteen asks her co-student, “what are you going to do in your life?’ No answer from the co-student. But the girl herself said, ‘I will be an artist”. The ambitious girl was none other than Georgia O'Keefe who would be one of the greatest painters of the modern world.

In the field of art it was a rule that any new form or style would be conceived and given birth in European countries; and then it would travel to rest of the world. There was an artist who did the reverse. The abstract paintings done by Georgia O'Keefe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) got so much recognition that their fame travelled beyond the boundaries of New Mexico and USA where she resided.

Art of Georgia O'Keefe : Georgia painted ordinary articles like flowers, bones, and rocks; but it was her style that injected an element of abstraction into the paintings. She explored the expressive properties of two most crucial elements of painting, the light and colours. That very element made her paintings so beautiful. She artistically synthesized the shapes in a well delineated manner. With her moving spirit, she could do it within a short period what the others would have taken years to accomplish. There are theories which profess representing the outer side of the objects painted. The abstract artist would reject this concept, more or less. Instead they try depicting the inner strength or the essence of the objects being painted, on one hand; and on another, they would endeavour to bring out all the possibilities of the colours on their palettes. Georgiana did well in both of the aspects by painting the inner intensity and power of the objects. In a way she had revolutionized the art of America.

Painting Style of Georgia O'Keefe : Georgia’s artistic career spanned for more than seventy years. That was the era of shifting of styles of art in Europe and other parts of the world. But Georgia maintained consistency in her art. She never stopped revealing the intrinsic value of colours and objects. She would observe an object with her cultivated vision. Then her delicate and nice mannered brush would record each and every nuance of the colours.

In the above painting we can see how she had achieved the level of abstract representation of colours. It is amazing to see that how she has painted the inner-self, the soul of the colours blue and green. Every inch of the frame is painted with perfection of a sculpture. The different shades of green and blue are revealed at their maximum potential. We can feel the dance of the colours on canvas. That is why the painting is rightly titled as “Blue and Green Music”. This painting was done in the year 1921.

Georgia had done many landscapes, which were the artistic record of her observation of the environment and places she lived in. While painting these landscapes, she would capture the vivid colours spread on the earth and the clarity of light falling on the objects painted. She remained fully occupied in painting the scenes of New Mexico where she mostly lived in the late years of her life.

Life of Georgia O'Keefe : Georgia had started her life in the area from where she would breathe the inspiration. During her artistic journey, she had traveled very much. Georgia had visited many countries, like India, Far East and Middle East countries, South Asia and Europe. But the New mexico had become her main residence. She died also in that region of New Mexico. It was her desire to spread her ashes on the fields where she lived. Her last wish was fulfilled. [Images courtesy Georgia O'Keeffe [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Commons , Georgia's photo courtesy Alfred Stieglitz [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons]