Advancing with Watercolor: The Beauty of Shadows - Abstraction and Expression

ABSTRACTION AND EXPRESSION

This is week 6 of a very rewarding and immersive series - The beauty of Shadows - After immersing myself into this subject I find myself with a wealth of subject matter - My artists eye has become focused on the world of shadows and the ways in which the shadow has a reflective and sometimes an independent nature. Depending on how we look at them - this week I want to push myself a little and look more at the shadow as a subject to itself,  by that I mean that the shadow takes over the scene and we can regard it more purely as a visual entity.

ABSRTACTION

This would be a good time I think to exercise the idea of abstraction and how we move from a more literal representation to a more stylized and interpretive expression. Be ready for some curious looks when presenting these types of works - I remember my mother who supported my career and new every stage and when I showed her some of my more interpretive work she nodded and said - I see more abstraction in your painting these days. She was right my work is a little more personal and interpative these days.but stile the basics we have been practicing feel important. Balance, Contrast, variety - these ideas come more to the front as we step into abstraction

SHAPE AND NOTAN

I have noticed that I look at shapes more as a foundation for my painting recently and strive to simplify these shapes much like we do with a notan or light and dark rendering. The notan itself  is a bit to graphic for my taste as I strive for atmosphere and depth but I do find the practice of Notan to be a stepping stone into the painting

EXERCISE

I think in the end the exercise of abstraction is where I find its value - I still like to paint objects and scenes with narratives, trees rocks and skies, but knowing more about  tension, composition, variety, and harmony and how to use these in my painting makes these scenes richer. Curiosity is still there as well as the unknown and so painting and creative activity never gets old