How to Paint Abstracts from a Photo

Filling Negative Space Shapes With Color

Areas of bright color create a Pop Art feel.

Image: © 2006 Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.

So what do you do once you've got the negative space? One direction to explore is filling in the spaces with a single color. Seems simple, like you'd just be coloring-in shapes? Well, here are a few things to consider:

• How will you select the colors? Will you use complementary or adjacent?
• Will one color dominate the painting (such as the red does in the photo)?
• Will you outline the shapes with a color (such as the black in the photo), or not?
• Will you use transparent or opaque pigments?
• What about texture? Will you use thick paint with visible brushmarks?

• Using a Reference Photo as a Starting Point for Abstracts
• Look at the Negative Space for an Abstract
• Shapes and Patterns from Negative Space
• Filling Negative Space Shapes With Color
• Another Way to Start at an Abstract: Follow the Contours of the Shapes
• Don't Forget Tone (Lights and Darks)
• Another Way to Start an Abstract: Look at the Lines
• Repeat with Other Colors
• Keep Going and Build On What Went Before
• The Final Painting, with the Power of the Dark