From the Artist: I have recently taken up pastel painting and this is my first attempt at an abstract. I'd love your views / critique on this.
From the Painting Guide: Well, my first comment is a bit of a pedantic one, which is to say that it (and the project) is abstraction not a pure abstract. That is, the painting contains elements that reflect "reality", in this instance flower heads and grass. Is the distinction between abstraction and abstract important? Only in certain circles; I think it's just a something to be aware of so some high-brow jargon-speaking person can't sideswipe you.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Elements in a painting should be arranged to lead the viewer's eye into and around a painting. One way to check this is to do a quick thumbnail sketch of the main shapes in the painting, looking at how they're aligned and arranged without the distraction of the background of and detail in the painting. In this painting, the one flower is right in the middle of the painting. I've heard it called bull's eye composition and fried-egg composition, but fundamentally the effect is to pull the viewer's eye straight into the center of the painting to the neglect of everything else.
Put up your hand or a piece of paper and crop off the two flowers on the right-hand side of the painting. Now compare the new composition with the existing one, how your eye moves around the elements in the painting more.
Mark Making/Texture: I like the strong directional marks that I interpret (partly because of the painting's title and partly because of the colors) as grass. It gives a sense of lush growth, of movement.
Leaving Out Unnecessary Detail: Not having the flower heads attached to stalks but floating in the grass takes the painting one step away from realism, which is exactly the aim of this project. But does your brain interpret them as anything other than flowers growing in and above the grass? Remember this when you're painting realistically, that you don't have to include every single bit of detail, the viewer's brain fills things in.
See Also:
• Composition Class: Number of Elements (for why an odd number of elements is better than an even)
From the Painting Guide: Well, my first comment is a bit of a pedantic one, which is to say that it (and the project) is abstraction not a pure abstract. That is, the painting contains elements that reflect "reality", in this instance flower heads and grass. Is the distinction between abstraction and abstract important? Only in certain circles; I think it's just a something to be aware of so some high-brow jargon-speaking person can't sideswipe you.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Elements in a painting should be arranged to lead the viewer's eye into and around a painting. One way to check this is to do a quick thumbnail sketch of the main shapes in the painting, looking at how they're aligned and arranged without the distraction of the background of and detail in the painting. In this painting, the one flower is right in the middle of the painting. I've heard it called bull's eye composition and fried-egg composition, but fundamentally the effect is to pull the viewer's eye straight into the center of the painting to the neglect of everything else.
Put up your hand or a piece of paper and crop off the two flowers on the right-hand side of the painting. Now compare the new composition with the existing one, how your eye moves around the elements in the painting more.
Mark Making/Texture: I like the strong directional marks that I interpret (partly because of the painting's title and partly because of the colors) as grass. It gives a sense of lush growth, of movement.
Leaving Out Unnecessary Detail: Not having the flower heads attached to stalks but floating in the grass takes the painting one step away from realism, which is exactly the aim of this project. But does your brain interpret them as anything other than flowers growing in and above the grass? Remember this when you're painting realistically, that you don't have to include every single bit of detail, the viewer's brain fills things in.
See Also:
• Composition Class: Number of Elements (for why an odd number of elements is better than an even)