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I'm the kind of person who likes schedules, maps, directions to follow, or generally some kind of plan.  When I start out most of my paintings, although I often don't know exactly what will happen I still have a pretty good sense of where I'd like to end up--this is why I'm such a huge fan of notans and thumbnail sketches.  

For several years, I've been itching to try abstracts, yet I've hesitated.  They seem an uncharted territory, with no map to follow--so I gaze admiringly at my colleagues who paint out in that wilderness.  Just recently though I realized that my own little thumbnails themselves, as I pointed out in an earlier blogpost, are abstract designs.  I was sitting on a goldmine of little starter abstract paintings.

Here's how I went about transforming an originally realist idea into an abstract painting, and began to discover the true benefits of painting abstracts.  

I began with the thumbnail of a river scene I painted last summer.  Here's the original thumbnail along with the completed painting.

As I flipped through my sketchbook, the diagonals caught my eye.  To create my abstract painting I changed my thumbnail in two ways:

1.  I flipped the image on its side (turning an image sideways or upside down helps the brain see shapes as shapes, and not trees, river, horizon.)

2.  I cropped the image to a square to emphasize the dynamic diagonals.  This is not always necessary but I like squares so it worked here.

New thumbnail:

Next step was to block in colors and values matching this design, intuitively choosing colors that appealed, then doing an alcohol wash.

What happened next was the fun and surprising part.  I kept stealing glances at my iPad, as if it could tell me what to do next.  I gradually realized that the only direction I would get would come from me, or the painting itself.   Instead of following a map, I had to just start looking and listening and responding to what I saw.  What a discovery:  I became much more attuned to my senses, noticed colors, edges, shapes throughout the painting process in a way I don't always.  Painting with no map, I lost my preoccupation with where I was going, and I had to just look around and pay attention to where I was in the painting at every moment. It's terrifying, but also completely exciting to discover a new way of painting after 20 years.

Having to make each decision based on where I am at this instant is refreshing and strengthening.  Whether you intend to be an abstract painter or not, I recommend trying this.  It will make you a better painter, because it will strengthen your discovery and your judgment muscles.  And, you will have fun.  You will be a better painter for it.

I am truly a beginner in this genre, but so far I've found each foray a true adventure.  I never quite know where I'll end up, and that's part of the fun.  Wishing you a year of discovery.

Nachtmusik, 12 x 12 pastel