"Stand of Birch Trees"
oil on canvas, 20" x 20"
The painting above was painted in 2007 after I spent a couple weeks as an artist-in-residence with Whiskeytown National Recreation area , located within Shasta County, Northern California . . .that place made a longlasting impression on me! "Abstracts from Life" has been an ongoing theme in my paintings.
So how DO you get from the first step, of being inspired by the beauty of the natural world, to creating an abstract painting of the landscape? The painting above and the painting below have had great feedback so that I know these appeal not only to me, they also appeal to a big variety of art appreciators.
This process is what I find the most interesting to instruct, and I've taught "Abstracts from Life" either incorporating a condensed version into another class, or instructing as a focused class. In the next few weeks I'll be instructing how to abstract forms from nature , distilling and extracting the shapes, and coming up with finished paintings that are expressive . . . .a key idea for painting. I have a private-instruction student flying in from the East Coast and we'll spend a week in my studio, painting in acrylics. I'm now prepping supports (panel, paper) for technique demonstrations and playing around . . .another key idea!
If your group is interested in hosting a workshop on this topic, or if you can travel to Northern California please contact me for some details. I promise it's a fun and highly informative approach to painting abstracts. Acrylic on paper is my preferred medium .
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