Abstract art was the equivalent of poetic expression;
Etel Adnan
I didn’t need to use words, but colors and lines.
I didn’t need to belong to a language-oriented culture,
but to an open form of expression.
We had a great start to the year during our January 24 Membership Meeting. Members brought amazing artwork, some of which you can view in this newsletter. It’s such a delight to see so many different artistic styles and watch members’ artwork develop over the years, sometimes going in surprising new directions. Archana Jain did exactly that with her demonstration of a technique to add painting “sculpture” to her artwork. The Spring Group Art Project will be exciting when we view your inspirational pieces in April, reflecting one or more of the three subjects: Insects, Cosmic, and Landscape. Quite a creative choice!
During the last month I’ve been viewing different abstract painting demos on YouTube. One of the artists I found particularly interesting is Chris Loud. He’s an excellent communicator who has an easy-to-understand process with intuitive abstract painting, primarily using acrylic paint. I love the way he illustrates his approach to paintings without a focus on the outcome, more as an ongoing exploration through layering and revision.
He embraces the unknown and allows the painting to reveal itself through his use of line, form and color – not trying to create a realistic depiction. I encourage you to check out these two of his videos on YouTube: Layers and Nature Inspired. In Layers, he demonstrates putting down some paint lines and then uses acrylics, alcohol markers, silicone brushes to scrape paint, and creates transparent overlays. In Nature Inspired, he uses acrylics, wax pastels, a catalyst wedge, palette knife, brushes, and his fingers while creating shapes and lines. I think you’ll enjoy these video demos as well as his others. I’ll review additional abstract artists you may not be familiar with in future Guild newsletters. Have fun!
Looking forward to seeing some amazing artwork at our monthly meeting!
Diann Klink • President