A pilot project: painting studies for my new abstract series

June 30, 2020

*Study #4, my most successful piece from this pilot project.*

I’m embracing a whole new way of painting, and I think it’s working! I’m beginning with a concept, a feeling, then developing the pieces from this internal work.

My new painting series is starting to unfold as I complete weekly assignments as part of an expressive arts course I’m taking. Through this series I want to transfer the feeling of deep renewal and relief that I felt while regaining inner peace while walking through the woods amidst the chaos of the pandemic.

Last week I worked on a pilot project for this series, testing technique, page compositions, a color palette and texture-making. I created 4 paintings on paper for which my goal was to start each piece in a different way to see which beginning point achieved the most successful results.

STUDY #1: Paint a piece in one sitting.

STUDY #2: Start one with large color areas in the first layer.

STUDY #3: Paint a piece with lots of chaos in the first layer.

STUDY #4: Begin one with a light, washy layer.

After all four studies were completed, I gave myself time away from them. Then, with fresh eyes, I spent time analyzing and evaluating. While painting I photographed the studies after each painting session, recording my progress from day to day. For analysis I printed this progression and pasted it into my journal. I printed the first step of each study, the final version and one of the most critical middle steps.

Overall, I think the pieces turned out well and the experiment worked.

The most successful piece is Study #4.

• Study #4 best conveys my concept in a way that feels right to me.

• It has a great composition, good contrast, interesting textures and a wide variety of brush strokes — all which contribute to successful abstract work.

• This study has a fresh, open feel with lots of natural white space where we see the paper showing through, rather than just painted-over white space.

• I like the contrast between the big swashes of color and the smaller textures.

• It has a good variety of color, textures and sizes.

• The paint goes close to the edges on the left and right, and I didn’t crowd the bottom with tons of elements, like I did on some of the others.

• I like the mix of light washes and saturated areas.

Study #4, mixed media on paper — *Study #4*, mixed media on paper

Study #1 is my most unfortunate experiment, and maybe that’s ok. Maybe this is a result of experimenting. The piece as it stands now is just ok. It needs something else in order for it to feel complete. On this one I went WAAAY too far and ended up overpainting — covering my initial work which felt fresh. In fact, while I was working on the experiment, I got so carried away painting that I forgot that my initial goal was to paint that one in one sitting. Doh! So, next time I’ll have to add post-it notes to each experiment to keep track of my direction and goals.

Study #1, mixed media on paper — *Study #1*, mixed media on paper

Study #2 was actually more successful in the middle of painting it. With this one, too, I took it a step too far, again overpainting some of the most interesting bits of the piece.

Study #2, mixed media on paper — *Study #2*, mixed media on paper

Study #3 worked well, though it needs more contrast in textures and sizes. It’s also less successful in that I don’t think I conveyed my concept as well here. I think it needs a calmer feeling to move it closer to my concept.

Study #3, mixed media on paper — *Study #3*, mixed media on paper

Key learnings from my pilot project:

• Slow down in between layers. Stop and evaluate. Stop more. Paint less.

• Make notes on different paintings BEFORE I start painting. That way I won't get carried away and cover the good stuff like I did in #1 and #2.

• Paint a little, then sit on my hands and evaluate.

• The paintings that had the fewest layers were the most successful. Hmmm.

• I still need to learn how to paint bigger strokes and bigger areas, as I much prefer cropped areas of these pieces to the full sheet.

All of my favorite versions of my paintings are layers 3 or 4. The layers beyond that lost freshness. So, I should definitely be cautious and move slowly in the future when I reach that point in a new piece. Stop and truly reflect deeply before moving forward. So, sit on my hands more.

This was a fun pilot project. I definitely got a lot out of it and furthered the development of my new series. I’m excited to begin painting number 1 in the series. I’m ready to put paint to canvas and see what new magic appears!

Read my previous posts for this series:

Developing my initial concept: A whole new approach to abstract painting!

Initial style development: Can I hold my cherished moments sacred while laid bare?