Abstract painting explained – Part 4

Art in general is representational or abstract, representational pictures are pictures which you can know what it means from a look at like a picture in your kid’s story an abstract painting is the one where you can’t know what it means instantly.

If we want to define Abstract Art we can say it’s abstracting everything that surrounds from its real form to a new form using colours, shapes & your imagination to describe it.

Abstract art is a high level painting technique which depends on artist’s deep thinking and deepest feelings and also depends on the viewer’s understanding to what the painting say.

“We have to accustom the eye to listen to the painting” Paul Kelly.

There were abstract movements established like: Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism, Neoplasticism, Dadaism, Surrealism..etc. then in the 20th century art Abstract Expressionism was established , and this one was interested in not only the paint but how it’s painted , the material that was used in the painting from colours, papers, toolsetc. which means the overall painting process. Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956), Arshile Gorky (Armenian-American, 1904-1948), Franz Kline (American, 1910-1962), Mark Rothko (Russian-American, 1903-1970) are names that must be mentioned when talking about abstract art of this move.

A very well known example nowadays for abstract art are patterns created by graphic designers, most of the patterns are collection of colours and shapes forming a beautiful piece of art that can be repeated to create a prettier background for cloth, wall, …etc.

How to paint it?

The truth is that you have no rules to follow for painting such art, Which is the good thing about it yet a bad thing, it’s good to have no rules bounding you from doing what you want but the bad thing is that you have nothing to follow but your mind, creativity and imagination. Those are the only tools that will guide you, A one piece of advice you can take is reading more about this art and seeing other painters work and what their pictures means that will help you a lot in your path to being professional abstract art painter. So you can just get a piece of paper and brush and start to output everything you have. But always remember is as easy as it may seems as hard as it is, As abstract art is considered one of the most difficult arts as it requires a lot of concentration and a high sense of colours& shapes mixing to get to your point.

How to Find a Fine Art Piece

Nowadays, there are many art auction houses available online such as sotheby and ebay. However, before attempting to bid for a fine art auction, there are some points you need to take note especially if you are a beginner to art auctions.

If you are new to fine art auctions, you might first decide what it is you like to collect. Is it abstract art, oil-based painting, impression art etc?

You also might want to read up on the art category that you prefer to buy. Take for example, you are into abstract art. It would help you in your art auctions if you knew more about abstract art history, the various abstract art movements. The best way to start would be on the internet. One such site is www.artsconnected.org. They provide comprehensive search tools for visitors to research on their favorite art category.

The other way is to browse the various art magazines, books, periodicals. You could go to your local bookstore, amazon or even the local library. Visit a few fine art auction houses and get a feel for the type of art you are interested in. Art Auction houses will usually provide detailed information on the art piece being auctioned.

How Do I Know The Art Piece I Like Is Real?

Ok, so you finally found an art piece you like. The next question you are probably asking is how do I know it is authentic? Since the value of an art piece is subjective depending on the person looking at it, it would be best if you can afford it to get a professional art appraiser to value the art piece.

For large fine art auction houses such as sotheby, you can be assured that the art piece is already appraised and is authentic. However, if you are looking for an art piece at smaller auction houses or online art auctions such as ebay, you do need to be extra careful. Particularly so for online art auctions where there are many fake art pieces being auctioned.

If you like a fine art being auctioned online, the best way if possible would be to communicate with the art seller before buying. Online art auctions usually keep a track record of the art seller’s sales history and can help you to determine whether the seller is a reputable person.

Biography: Salvador Dali – Part 2

Meet Salvador Dali

Surrealism, n. Pure psychic automatism by which the real functioning of thought is expressed, by verbal, written, or artistic means.

Who: Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dali Domnech.

What: Master of Surrealism.

When: May 11, 1904-January 23, 1989.

Where: Born in Figueres, a small town in Spain bordering France.

Why: Imaginative and eccentric character who often did bizarre things to attract attention. Believed he was the reincarnation of his older brother, Salvador, who died nine months before his own birth, lending to an early inclination to surrealist thought.

How: In 1922, he began studying at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid, where he experimented with Cubism (abstract art form where objects are broken up, analyzed and re-assembled) and Dada (purposely objected to every standard and accepted value of art). He was expelled in 1926, despite his astounding mastery of realistic painting. In 1929, he collaborated with Luis Buuel, a surrealistic film director, and met his muse and future wife, Gala. In 1931, he created one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, of the surrealistic melting watch, suggesting Einstein’s relative theory of time. In 1934, art dealer Julian Levy introduced New York to Dali’s works, showing up at the exhibit in a glass case and a brassiere. In 1936, he was featured in the London International Surrealist Exhibition, arriving in a deep-sea diving suit. In 1944, he painted Dream Caused by the Flight of the Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, influenced by Sigmund Freud and Dali’s exploration of dreams. In 1949, he returned to Catalonia, Spain. In 1959, he took part in the Homage to Surrealism exhibit, organized by Andre Breton, the founder of surrealism. From 1960 through 1974, his main focus of artistic energy was on the Dali Theatre and Museum in his hometown of Figueres. In 1989, Dali passed away of heart failure and was buried in the crypt of his museum.

Fun Facts:

- Though recognized as the father of surrealistic painting, Dali experimented with many unusual kinds of media, like his bulletist (shooting ink at a blank sheet of paper) work, holography, and his incorporation of optical illusions.

- Dali was fascinated with Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and human DNA.

- Symbolic images within Dali’s paintings include clocks, elephants, eggs and ants.

- Dali was an iconic influence for Andy Warhol.

- Other artistic endeavors include filmmaking, scriptwriting, theatre, fashion, photography, sculpture, scenery construction, writing, jewelry making, and an animated cartoon for Walt Disney.

- A donated sketch of the Crucifixion hung in New York City’s Rikers Island jail for 16 years before it was stolen in March 2003, and has yet to be recovered.

- Andre Breton, longtime friend and foe, nicknamed him Avida Dollars, an anagram implicative of Dali’s greediness.

- One of Dali’s most recognized characteristics is his upturned, waxed mustache.

- In a Sixty Minutes interview, Dali spoke only in third person and claimed, “Dali is immortal and will not die.”

- In 1982, King Juan Carlos of Spain bestowed him with the title Marquis of Pubol.

- The largest collections of Dali’s works are housed in the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain; and in the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Online Art Gallery: a Striking Triangle of Creativity, Trade and Technology for You!

Abstract painting explained – Part 1

Abstract Painting

Abstract painting can be compared to free verse poetry or progressive jazz because it illustrates a freedom of expression in art. It cannot be confined to a type of technique although each abstract painter develops a particular technique. It expresses the subjective emotional feeling of the painter as does jazz and free verse poetry; and attempts to represent social, political, and lifestyle issues through an artistic expression rather than a written commentary.

Abstract painting thus fits into the modern world of the avant-garde. It is off-beat, far out, weird, different, etc.

When you look at abstract art you may develop your own interpretation of it which may or may not be anything like the artist intended. It may have no impact on you whatever depending on your perspective; or you may give full expression to your feelings as you look at an abstract painting.

Abstract painting began in 1910 with Pablo Picasso, the creator of Cubism. Before this time artists were still into classical art but philosophers were beginning to talk of the worth of classical art. They asked questions – Was classical art worthwhile? Picasso reflected on the philosophies and eventually developed his own art. After Picasso, came the neo-plasticism of Mondrian, which was characterized by squares and rectangles painted in the primary colors.

Picasso shared this developing abstractionism in art with two other artists – Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky.

Wassily Kandinsky wrote the famous book, Point and Line to Plane. In it he explains abstract art. ‘”In this case may be seen one of the differences between “objective” and abstract art. In the former, the sound of the element “in itself” is veiled, thrust back; when abstract, it attains its full, unveiled sound.”‘ (Kandinsky, p. 53) Here he implies the subjective reality of abstract art as opposed to objective art. Abstract art looks inward for artistic expression.

Abstract painting is spontaneous, free, unthinking. It became exclusively non-thinking with the works of Jackson Pollock. His was painting without conscious control.

The main types of abstract painting were cubism, neo-plasticism, expressionism, futurism, fauvism, and abstract expressionism.

Other elements of abstract painting are spiritualism and getting to the inner core of the being rather than concentrating on outward forms such as landscapes.

Vincent Van Gogh was getting close to abstractionistic painting when he did much of his work on the social aspects of life in factories and fields where workers did their work – probably why many people couldn’t understand where he was coming from at the time. Painters never contemplated on the human condition before. The early painters concentrated on portraits and the human figure and then during Van Gogh’s time moved into landscapes. Much of artwork was commissioned by the churches.

Vincent Van Gogh began making it personal.

Picasso’s most famous painting – the Guernica was a highly political, passionate, and emotional painting inspired by the Spanish Civil War but immediately depicting the brutal and horrific destruction of the town of Guernica by the Nazis during World War II.

Abstract painting such as this example borders on surrealism – a hugely distorted and grotesque depiction of reality.

To understand abstract painting you have to try to get into the mind of the artist and discern what he was thinking when he created his painting. It might be easier to do this if you also listen to the jazz of Miles Davis or John Coltrane. I like Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis. Or read some of the works of the beat poets – maybe the Dr. Generosity Poets.

Bitterroot Art Beat: Barbara Warden

Bitterroot Art Beat: Barbara Warden

Quilted textile artist’s work demonstrates tight connections to diverse cultural influences, jolts the power of imagination

By Brian D’Ambrosio

As an artist, Barbara Warden easily expresses the vivacity of her thoughts and opinions. She converses with fluency and cheerfulness and a visible interest upon almost any topic related to art and her own artistic pursuits.

Although her involvement within the art world cuts across many different mediums, presently Warden works in the restorative realm of quilted textile art.

Warden’s textile (or fiber) art encompasses every imaginable human attribute: from memory to language to abstract ideas of beauty, harmony, freedom, and selfhood. Widely ranging in size and color, her blended textile creations greatly appeal to the power of imagination, at once eliciting passion, appreciation, and mysterious obsession.

When studying some of her more abstract pieces, vivid and pleasing sensations form themselves amid constant, necessary, invisible movements in the brain. This metaphorically rich, nerve-based imagery influences with its undaunted firmness and deep conceptions, while providing valuable clues to a lost emotional universe embedded in abstraction.

The great Thomas Jefferson wrote in his memoirs that “the art of life is the art of avoiding pain;” Warden’s abstract textile art expresses itself best and most humanely when the artist acknowledges the systemic source of contradiction and common anxieties.

“I used to be a painter,” says Warden. “Abstract art has always interested me, and it’s where my interests are. I’m madly in love with Rembrandt, just like everybody else is. Painting for me expresses my love of color. Quilting and working with fabric became a way to get back to working with color.”

Warden enjoys combining various colors, textures and shapes in random ways, and uses improvisation as a technique to learn more about creating vivid images that suggested movement and energy.

Indeed, Warden holds dear a special bond with color, particularly red. Extreme and emotional, and resembling the color of blood, red indicates a spectrum of symbolism ranging from radical left politics to a sad state of financial indebtedness.

“Color is powerful and is a significant way of expressing emotion. The color red is fire, warmth, danger, and, at its most basic, the color of blood. Two years ago I read a book entitled The Root of Red Madder. Red madder is a plant which is used as a dye for Asian rugs. At that moment I decided to emphasize red as the dominant color in my quilts.

“I don’t think of color as neutral. I read something recently about red being a neutral color. But, there’s nothing neutral about red. Red stands for passion. Red is one of those certain colors that I respond to more than others.”

Warden’s artwork is impressive, but it is, however, her conversational tone that needs to be remarked upon: polite, indulgent, without affectation, wide-ranging, and captivating without deliberately seeking to be so.

Plus, her artistry captures the essence of a strong connection to diverse cultural influences, namely Native American and Asian.

“I’ve always loved Native American artwork and the natural dyes they use in rug making,” says Warden.

“Right now I’m focused on the Navajo and Hopi, and the fabulous colors of the blue skies and red sandstone of Arizona and New Mexico. Chinese and Japanese fine crafted embroidery has an attention to detail that’s so beautiful. Nothing is too small or insignificant to make it into a piece of Asian artwork.”

Warden discovered, alas only recently, that quilting extends the chance to recalibrate her sense of what happiness, exertion, and self-fulfillment, mean.

“Textile work is interesting because it can be functional or nonfunctional. I’m very interested in the feel of the tapestry and fabric. There’s a great deal of satisfaction that comes along with quilting. For me, art is always a learning experience.”

Boredom, vivacity, mundaneness, and exhilaration, are all hallmarks of an artist’s emotional ebb and flow. Recognizing these poignant and fickle pitfalls is one thing, putting erratic attitude and inactivity into action is another.

“Some days the last thing I want to do is sit down and go to work. Matisse considered himself a blue collar worker. He went to work to paint every day – that was his job. I’m always reminding myself not to give in to a mood.”

For Warden, quilted tapestry, similar to other artistic endeavors, provides if not the escape but the interlude from reality, the breathing space from a world filled with repetitive gestures and overcrowded anxious places.

“Quilting is solitary for me. But for a lot of people it’s a social experience. There are quilting guilds, and some people thrive on the social aspects of quilting as they’re working. I’m much more of a private person.”

After all these years in the fine arts, Warden has learned how to be able to shrug off criticisms, and has nurtured enough confidence throughout the decades to look disapproval in the eye – and even wink at it; she’s at a point in her life when she believes in what she does, and nothing is going to deter her from doing it:

“I don’t mind putting myself out there in a vulnerable way anymore. With quilting, I know that I’m in the right place right now. It’s exciting. Each piece is different. Each day is different.”

Barbara Warden’s textile art will be on the display for the months of September and October at The Frame Shop and Gallery, 325 Main Street, Hamilton, MT. Phone: 363-6684.

For more information, visit www.firetalkquilts.com.

Abstract painting explained – Part 7

I love art museums. I never get enough time in one. And I am not an artist, by any means. Now, my daughter is an incredible artist, but me, nah. But there are moments in an art museum that drive me berserk. There I am, in the middle on one of those benches just enjoying some work on the wall at an appropriate distance, getting to know it, become comfortable with it, let it soak into me. All of a sudden some biddies come by and, with arms akimbo, one of them states in a grating third-grade grammar teacher voice, “My five-year old can paint better than that.”

Well, let me vociferously and categorically and politely contradict that thought. Your five-year old most certainly could NOT paint anything even remotely close to that. Yes, to you it may appear random and meaningless and senseless, but it is assuredly not. Let me explain.

Abstract art flies in the face of expectation. But it satisfies the goals of art in an almost metaphysical and visceral level. Abstract art is more pure and fundamental than any other kind of art, for it is truly art for arts sake.

There are basically three kinds of painting: decorative, functional and abstract. Decorative art is meant to be pretty. It exists for the purpose of making a beautiful space. It has to have meaning, it is about something. It works because it plays with that part of the mind that connects it to other images and memories. Functional art exists for a purpose. It is didactic, it tells a story that is instructive and moral (in the plain meaning of the word, not its connotation of virtuous). Now abstract art exists because the artist creates. It does not mean anything. It explores, punctuates and even violates standards of beauty. It is not instructive, and it certainly has not gotten to a point. It IS. Now some abstract art is decorative. I think Kandinsky, for instance, often produces things that are quite pretty, and Pollock sometimes creates canvases that are startling. But in general, the abstract artist does not approach the work of creation by thinking of being pretty.

Here’s a definition of art that includes the abstract, and may help you understand what abstract art is attempting to do. A painting is art when it exists in that state that anything added to it, or taken away from it, would result in it being less perfect. A Jackson Pollack painting may appear to be random, but it is not. Anything added to it, even a single additional spittle of cerise would ruin it.

Oil Paintings, A Wonderful Creation

Why is important to choose the exact painting media? There are different answers for this question. However, the answer comes from oneself. Remember, your ability and talent determinate your own style. The majority of painters work with Oil Paintings and canvas as surface. Imagination is another option to create artworks.

There is an essential word that every painter should remember, freedom. The creative freedom of painting is such that an artist (painter, sculptor, craftsman, etc) can choose almost any media to develop her or his work. These works always need strong canvas to make good Oil Paintings.

The most popular and recognized painting styles are: Art Nouveau, Baroque, Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Impressionism, Modernism, Neoclassicism, Pop Art, Realism, Romanticism, Surrealism, Symbolism, etc. These styles are excellently represented in famous Oil Paintings. For example, now we will appreciate a brief biography of Henry Moore.

Henry Spencer Moore (July 1898 – August 1986) was an English artist and sculptor. He is well known for his abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore’s style belongs to modernism. He was influenced by famous sculptors and artists such as Michelangelo, Giovanni Pisano, Sir Anthony Caro, Phillip King and Isaac Witkin.

His sculptures are frequently abstractions of the human figure, typically depicting mother-and-child or reclining figures. Moore’s works are usually suggestive of the female body. Later, He also sculpted family groups but to a lesser extent. These are part of his most popular sculptures: Large Divided Oval: Butterfly (1985), Three Way Piece (1964-1965), Two Piece Reclining (1963–1964), Two Piece Reclining (1963–1964), Locking Piece (1963), Double Oval (1966), Oval with Points (1968-1970) and Hill Arches (1972-1973). These sculptures are located in Berlin, London, Toronto and Australia.

Understanding abstract art – Part 23

As an abstract artist, when asked for the definition of my work, I tell people that I manipulate colors and shapes. A “representational” artist paints something to show that something – a landscape, a still life, a portrait, or a historical scene as examples. Abstractions are manipulations of something, juxtapositions of something…explorations of something other than the representation of the subject.

It can be argued that Picasso’s cubist woman is a “portrait,” but it in no definition is “representational,” because I know of no human who is made of cubes of color. Picasso’s cubist woman is an abstraction of a woman, done through the manipulation of color, shape and juxtaposition of planes.

Another way to describe abstract is to explain it as an experiment in materials. Many mixed media works are experiments in putting together various elements to create a sense of wholeness…the various disparate parts combining to create a new whole.

Sometimes the subject matter of an abstract work is not its point at all. I love the floral paintings of Georgia O’Keefe, not because they are recognizable flowers, but because of her manipulation of form and color. The flowers just happened to be the shapes that best allowed that manipulation.

All “art” is defined, ultimately, by the viewer. One person might indeed look at a Georgia O’Keefe and exclaim ‘what a well rendered rose,’ while the next might say, ‘the richness of the color and the curve of the lines evokes such a sense of wonder.’ Art is truly subjective.

Art history: Understanding cubism

Cubism was one of the most significant art movements of the twentieth century. It was the first truly “abstract” art style. Cubists rejected the traditional philosophy that art should copy nature. Instead of depicting subjects from one viewpoint or angle, Cubists, such as founders Pablo Picasso (October 25, 1881 April 8, 1973) and George Braque (May 13, 1882 August 31, 1963), chose to paint their subjects from multiple viewpoints at once, thus increasing the complexity of the painting. They reduced their subjects to basic geometric forms. Cezanne, though not a Cubist himself, was the fist to comment that “Everything in nature takes its form from the sphere, the cone and the cylinder.” This idea formed the foundation for the Cubist movement.

French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first coined the term “cubism” after seeing a painting by Braque. He described the piece as being full of little cubes. After this, the term quickly caught on and quite accurately illustrated the Cubists desire to cut down nature to simple geometric shapes. The Cubists discarded the need for conventional artistic notions such as foreshortening, chiaroscuro, perspective, and modeling. Instead, they chose to focus on the two-dimensionality of the canvas. They forwent the need to portray depth altogether. In addition, they wanted to show a subject from several viewpoints at once. This was a very innovative technique that differed so greatly from traditional art, that it led Cubism to become the first truly modern art movement.

Cubism can be split into two different eras, if you will. The first, ranging from 1907 to 1912 approximately, aimed to depict subjects as the mind’s eye sees them, not the eyes themselves. Subjects were analyzed, then fractured and reassembled. During this time their paintings were usually monochromatic. This phase was referred to as “Analytic Cubism”. The second era, “Synthetic Cubism” which ran from 1912 to about 1919, introduced mixed media to painting. In this phase of Cubism, paper and other materials were incorporated into the paintings. All sense of three-dimensionality was lost and the space becomes completely flattened. Also during this era, color was reintroduced to the canvas.

It is important to understand that Cubism was not limited to painting. Artists such Raymond Duchamp-Villon (November 5, 1876 – October 9, 1918) incorporated Cubism into his sculptures. It too influenced writers such as Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 July 27, 1946). The composer Edgard Varse (December 22, 1883 November 6, 1965) is said to have been inspired by Cubist writing and art. Cubisms “fractured” planes clearly played a role in the development of the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 April 9, 1959).

In summary, Cubism was an extremely radical art movement that, though short-lived, changed the face of art and allowed for a new way of thinking across many disciplines. Whether or not one is a fan of Cubist art itself, there can be no denying its significance in allowing for true creativity and opening up the door to a whole new way of seeing the world.

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