Structures 3

Structures 3

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

My goal on this small abstract was to create a pseudo horizon with a white focal point in somewhat the center.  I wanted the objects, colors, and lines to create movement. 

Object

Object

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on paper

The idea I wanted to explore in this small work was the presence in a completely nonrepresentational painting of one, clearly defined object.  Naturally the object would be the center of interest, but I wanted the other features of value, color, and line to create movement and interest within this context.

Cascade 1

Cascade 1

Gouache and Ink on Paper 6x6

My goal in executing this abstract was to create the sense of colors cascading from the upper left to the lower right on the painting.  I wanted yellow to be the dominant color with accents of blue, green and red to give motion and contrast to the painting.  I used white as the accent to brighten the focal areas and to move the viewer through the painting.
 

Structures 2

Structures 2

Gouache and Ink on paper, 4x4

The concept I wanted to explore in this painting was the evolution of color, form, and line beginning with yellow in the upper left and quinacridone rose in the upper right.   I wanted an area in the upper right quadrant to be the focal point and sketched in a few lines to guide the forms.  As I added prussian blue and white to the mix and extended the red/lavender, these forms and transitions evolved.

Patterns and Lines 1

Patterns and Lines 8 9 2022

Gouache and Ink, 4x5 on Paper

My goal in this study was to create balance, variety, proportion and movement with a set palette of primaries around the focal area in the lower right quadrant.  The challenge was to balance the large yellow of the upper left with colors and shapes.  I used the lines to tie the composition together and to give the colors form and structure.
 

Patterns 5

Patterns 22 07 05

Gouache 4x4 on Paper

I did this small abstract with a goal of expressing a sense of calm and a feeling of contentment, but I also wanted to create a composition that held a strong focus and encouraged movement and a little tension.  I limited my palette to yellow, blue, and purple, with a touch of phthalo green and white.  I would like the viewers to create their own story in this painting.

Abstract #21

Abstract #21

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

This is number 21 in a series of 20 because number 19 was a disaster.

My goal in this painting was to create interest and movement with warm colors and contrasting shapes and values.  I chose blue to purple for the upper left and light yellow in the lower right blending into warmer orange and red moving upward and to the left.  I had to add the touch of green to keep things honest.

Abstract #20

Abstract #20

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

This is number 20 in a series of 20 small abstract paintings.  My goal in this painting was to dominate the composition with lighter, cooler colors and values.  My initial intention was to use the mauve form in the lower left as the focal point, but I darkened it's value in order to make the light yellow green of the center of the composition the primary focal area.

Abstract #18

Abstract #18

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

Number 18 in a series of 20 - My goal when I started this painting was to use light and pure colors of yellow, green, and turquoise in broad, unblended organic shapes.  I deliberately avoided straight lines and edges in the borders between colors and in the ink lines.  I had planned to use more opaque gouache with white to build up the colors and make contrasts and values more intense, but the original transparent wash was so soft and delicate that I chose to stop here.

Abstract #17

Abstract #17

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

When I started this series of abstract paintings in gouache, I had initially thrown my first painting aside.  After taking another look I added some pen-work to the painting, and it came alive.  So I had to renumber my series, and in doing so, I realized that the original #3, this painting, needed the same kind of revision.  That allowed me to renumber the "old #3" as the "new #17."

The original concept here was to use blue and its complement orange to create composition around the colors yellow, red, and purple. The later addition of more lines and separation keeps the composition from becoming lost in its own complexity.

Abstract #16

Abstract #16

Gouache and Ink, 4x4 on Paper

This is number 16 of 20 in this series or exercises in abstract painting.  My goal was to use the warm corner of the color wheel for my primaries in this painting - red, cadmium yellow, a little quinacridone violet, and an old favorite, burnt sienna (which is not a primary, but....).  I worked with smooth textures on the top and broken textures on the bottom.  I placed the focal area in the center of the composition to see if it would work in a square format - I think it does.
 

Abstract #2

Abstract 4x4 #1

Gouache - 4x4 on paper with ink

Playing with a new toy - gouache - and a new objective - abstract with primary colors, shapes, and composition.