On a bright autumn afternoon this week, with my Ricoh set to high contrast mono, I went for a local walk with the aim of seeking out the kind of things that characterise abstract painting. This may seem strange if it were not for the fact that the latter is a current learning project and I particularly like the black and white acrylics and inks I’m practicing.
And since abstract art does away with recognizable realism or rather abstracts the whole into delineated elements, the viewer is left to wander at leisure over the image, and in imagination, amongst the light and darks, positive and negative space.
Without a definable construct, this art relies heavily on reconstituting the whole into some kind of order, else it becomes a muddied, muddled mess. Thus lines create contrast and form, thin and thick, ordered or scribbled
Abstract painters use line not only as a method of representing imagery, but also as a way to bring perspective and dimension into undefined fields, to inhabit space, or sometimes to challenge it.
And with enough width line becomes form [source]
Geometric or random shapes are placed in relationship, contiguous or distant, as contrast of colour, light and texture.
Textures add tactile and visual interest, create a dynamic interplay of light and shadow and convey a sense of movement and energy, [source]
To create texture, oil or acrylic paint is layered and then scraped creating a horizontal relation, one to another. Or textures are literally built up vertically, painting thicker and thicker or adding mediums to further texturize,
“We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.” Salvador Dalí
Conclusion: There is as much realism in abstracts as abstraction in the concrete!
Protoart Friday: Having some pre-weekend fun with art of any kind
PoetryPix 
Fine set!
thank you – I see you also like abstract photography!
I always shoot what draws my attention; and quite a lot of it tends towards abstraction. Your last shot is my favorite; and I also like Alberto Burri and Antonio Tàpies a lot, because they are close to nature. ✋
High contrast mono – just love it, Laura. Somehow beyond either the concrete or the abstract, that first shot and the Puddle Puzzle are strangely transporting.
I believe you’ve captured the very feeling that abstract art attempts to move us with – thank you Tish
Shadows give everything mystery.
I don’t think that much about what I do; I just make things, some more abstract than others. But any drawing, painting, or even photo is an abstraction of what is actually there. Probably what we think we see is actually an abstraction. Some of it just more so than others. (K)
I like the more so even more!
Exceptional compositions, Laura and I love the conclusion!
thank you Marina – so good to have your input again, especially as viewed through your artistic eye
I’m glad to be back admiring your artistic view!
welcome Marina! I’m learning to paint abstracts day by day – starting from scratch!
It’s a beautiful process. An empty canvas is always a new journey.