Though this sentiment may be offensive for many artists, it is a common notion for many people that abstract art yields childish results and is only for artists who have less artistic background, training, talent, and experience. However, it is actually the opposite. Abstract artists are just as talented as the traditional artists like the Old Masters and the Impressionists. Moreover, they’re just as valuable as traditional artworks, too. To date, as of 2015, the most expensive abstract painting ever sold is Willem de Kooning’s Interchange. It was sold for about $300 Million USD in the same year. Such just proves that abstract paintings are nevertheless valuable artworks that are beyond the perception of reality, making them just as worthy to be praised as traditional paintings of reality’s depictions. Over the recent years, many artists and aspiring painters have ventured into the world of abstraction so in this regard, this article will provide you with some abstract painting ideas.
We hope that these ideas are useful for your future art projects and help you boost your creativity for more paintings to come! Keep on reading to learn more about the topic.
Compositions of a Great Abstract Painting
Abstraction is actually harder to study than representational art. It takes great techniques, well-balanced compositions, depth, and balance. It’s not simple. Abstract art must strike a viewer’s eyes upon the first view to the extent that it will tell a message as it separates the art from the artist. How do we tell an abstract art is a “good” one? Well, it is mostly subjective, but we have a list of the basic components of a great abstract art that you need to keep in mind in order to create a harmonious painting.
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Color:
While some people think that abstract art is just combining random colors and splashing them on a canvas. It is actually more than that. In order to be a great artist, you need to think thoroughly about your color palette for every one of your canvases.
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Texture:
What makes abstract art appealing to most people is the playful texture. This is an important component because it makes an abstract artwork stand out. The use of palette knives, unconventional objects like old cards, plastic serrated knives, etc is also common. Don’t be afraid to get wild and creative or create textures that are hard to achieve by brush. That’s even better. Use your hands as stamps, try pouring, stamping, marbling, sponging, and other textural techniques.
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Geometry:
Shapes, lines, and other elements can help you convey your message better. Thus, the artworks get more depth and dimension in the overall canvas. However, be sure to not overdo them and study the placements of each element.
Tips and Tricks to Make Your Abstract Painting Ideas Better
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Experiment with different mediums:
We usually have a main creative medium that we’re comfortable with, for instance, most artists are either comfortable in using one medium per canvas-- either acrylics, oils, watercolor, pastels, or gouache. However, be as unconventional as you want in abstract art! The rise of mixed media art is getting popular since the start of the 21st century and it is a great application in abstract paintings. They create great layers, more elements, and interesting textures.
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Work on a bigger canvas:
We understand that a blank canvas is intimidating, especially if you don’t really have anything in mind to paint. But it just takes constant practice and guts to be extra creative. Working on a bigger canvas will allow you to use a wider color scheme, use more mediums (probably 2-3) depending on your artistic vision, use more artistic tools, and simply put, you have more creative space to express yourself. So don’t be intimidated to work on a bigger canvas because abstract art is usually larger than life, metaphorically and literally.
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Trust in the process:
As stated above, use your intuition rather than conscious abilities when painting abstract art. Abstract art is purely subjective so there are no mistakes-- there’s no objective rules that you have to follow, just your intuition.
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Don’t just use paint:
To create interesting effects, don’t just use paint. Use other mediums like charcoal, alcohol ink, non-wet mediums and combine them to create an abstract art that will stand out from the rest. It’s all about being unique and niche to make your art speak for itself. You can also incorporate gold leaf flakes, mica powder, etc.
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Find balance:
Do not overdo your compositions. Be sure that your canvas has space and learn how to arrange the elements in a way that they are aesthetically-pleasing to the eyes.
Famous Abstract Artists to get Yourself Inspired
The above tips and tricks to get your abstract painting ideas or projects better can help to make your abstract art more aesthetic, valuable, and relatable to other people. Now, to get the creative juices flowing, let us introduce you to some notable abstract artists that you can use as inspirations or role models for your artistic life.
Abstract Painting Ideas
Of course, before we end today’s discussion about abstraction, we want to give you actual abstract painting ideas if you’re running out of project ideas. Look down below and see which among these appeal to you the most!
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Impasto:
An Italian term that means "mixing," which is used to define a painting method in which paint is applied generously on a canvas, allowing strokes or palette knife traces to show through.
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Alcohol ink painting:
Alcohol inks are highly colored alcohol-based inks which may be thinned with isopropyl alcohol, as the name implies. These are most often used to make loose effects that resemble acrylic pouring.
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Picasso-inspired Modern Abstract Art:
Play with lines, neutral colors, and take inspiration from famous versatile artist Pablo Picasso. Although he is widely known for his contributions to the Cubism art movement, he also made great contributions to the abstract expressionism movement.
