Book review: Painting absracts

Book Review: Painting abstracts 

Ideas, projects and techniques.

By Rolina Van Vliet

Publisher: Search press

I found this book at the local library last week while I was sifting through the shelves.  When I started flicking through the book I instantly noticed how easy it looked to follow the exercises in the book and how beautifully it was set out.

This book is a collection of 64 exercises that an artist can progress through to learn about composition and freedom of abstract art.  

I have never tried this technique of art before and up till recently I was finding it difficult to even get my head around abstract art work but thanks to my patient sister I am now beginning to appreciate this art form.

I decided that this book though it is written for painters can easily be used for art quilters.  

Each page has clear and precise instructions and beautiful clear illustrations.  The exercises can be done on paper then modified to transfer them to material.

The first exercise I did was placing lines on the paper and using a palette knife move paint in large blocks of colour within those lines.  Then I use a brush to smooth out the paint to the edges of the page/canvas.

For my fabric I couldn't use a palette knife.  The paint would be too thick and I couldn't stitch into it.  I used a large paint brush instead to move around the thinned paint. I blotted the excess paint off before it dried so the paint layer would be a thin as possible.

The exercise asked for the artist to scratch lines into the paint with a sharp tool.  I used stitch to do this instead as the paint layer is so thin that it is difficult to get too much texture in the paint by scratching.

This is my first piece of abstract art I have done.  I was not sure what to expect but I loved the freedom of this art form and loved the effect of the stitch on the cloth.   By changing the stitch direction and shape I was able to add quite a bit of texture to the painting.  I think I would like to try some appliqué and stamping to this to add even more texture.

Watch this space for some more abstract art in the future :)