How to Paint Abstracts from a Photo

Repeat with Other Colors

Forget the photo and play with the pattern.

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

As you can see, a yellow and then its complementary, purple, have now been added. Just as the red was painted in response to the photo, so yhe yellow was painted in response to the red lines, and the purple in response to the yellow.

Sure, it looks rather like a mop at the moment, or maybe a mutant spider. Or even that a snail crawled through some paint. But, once again, remember the aim is to get you going, this is not intended to be the final painting.

• 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