More notes on Abstract Art

Further reading in the history of abstract art revealed the opening up of a new world of possibilities in modern art as the era of representational art dimmed. Also as new scientific discoveries were made, abstract art flourished in a parallel universe. Not representing, in an illustrative way, the discoveries, but an opening up of the mind of the artists.

In "Painting in the 20th Century" Werner Haftmann writes "... abstract painting offered possibilities of expressing in pictorial terms the spontaneous processes which take place within the personality. It also provided the associations and suggestions with which an inner experience of reality could be made visible. This pervasive preoccupation with the possibilities of abstract painting resulted in the fact that each painter undertook for himself a fresh speculative examination of pictorial means and formal processes. Meditation and speculation became for the contemporary painter closely related forces which held his creative work in a state of tension."

He also stated that "The inevitable effect of these reflections was that the painters perceived much more clearly the astonishing correspondences between contemporary intuitive and scientific experiences of the world and nature. The complex structure of matter, the concept of mass as dynamic energy, the concept of the magnetic field, the overlappings of time and space, of the finite and infinite, were now seen by the artist for what they really were: parallel manifestations of a more abstract experience of reality, an experience which was fully active in himself also."

Art, in this new way of thinking exploded all over the western world.

Abstract art on paper : "Duality"

ABSTRACT ART ON PAPER

In a more structured way, the drawing kept to a loose geometric construction of shapes and forms. Pen, markers acrylic paint and pastels were utilized in a intuitive, flowing pattern. The question of mind and matter, good and evil, man and woman surfaced after.

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Abstract art on paper

ABSTRACT ART ON PAPER
Here are 3 examples of abstract works on paper done a few years ago. They were executed in pen and ink, acrylics, markers, oil pastels and pastels. Small abstract works on paper, start at times, as a process of 'fleshing out' thoughts and ideas, with the thinking that I'll enlarge and paint a larger version. It rarely happens. I'm more drawn to spontaneous work, tentative, intuitive and largely abstract. The thoughts and ideas evolve as if on a trek into the mind, lost in thought.

The Titles are 1. Contravene 2. Cornices 3. Declining Prude. ( A parody on the ever popular title 'Reclining nude')

Carving- Abstract drawing

Carving evolved from scratching pen and pencil lines into a form more abstract than real. The pen acting as a chisel. Carving into existence this entity.

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Abstract drawing - Binary

While abstractly drawing, the forms gradually divided itself in two. Like an amoeba cell sub-dividing. Binary Fission.

Has anyone heard the outcome of The Collider? Slamming atoms at nearly the speed of light, in a sense, a small attempt at recreating the "Big Bang".

The action of cell division is also the earliest stage in the human ovum dividing itself after fertilization, orderly, to create a new being.

The drawing is the result of a wandering pen, many thoughts on a variety of fundamental things, then embellished with pastels, conte crayons and oil pastels.

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Abstract Drawing- "Awakening Molecules"

Are we creating today, genetically modified organisms that could prove resistant to all our current methods of curtailing them? Are we moving too fast in our experiments? Can we control the extent of the mutations that could occur?

Conversely, are we moving fast enough to cure diseases, hunger, starvation and desertification?

"Awakening Molecules" raises these issues and more. Of course, this is just a line drawing animating the questions. Wriggling these nagging issues into the consciousness of those who could do more. Those who could easily waste less. Knowing that much of the solutions are within our collective grasp.

But this is a two dimensional line drawing.

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Three Abstract Drawings

Three abstract drawings on paper, " A State of Flux," "Advancing," "Aroused".

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Abstract Drawing- A new form emerges

A new form emerges from the barren plateaus of a blank paper. It is pen and ink that extracts it from the mind to the paper.

Notes from"Kandinsky"
Today, I'm reflecting on this quote from Kandinsky:
"The work of art must serve the development and refinement of the human soul: indeed, art is the "daily bread" of the soul. The artist, Kandansky continues, is no Sunday's Child of life. " He has a difficult task to fulfil, which often becomes a cross to bear. He must know that every one of his actions and thoughts and feelings constitutes the subtle, untangible, and yet firm material out of which his works are created, and that hence he cannot be free in life - only in art."

Such profound statements must be digested slowly. What are your views on the opinions of Kandinsky, the father of abstract art? Did his work reflect his words?

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Art and Nature by Picasso

Picasso's views on Nature and Art

Picasso in "Picasso on Art, A Selection of Views" by Dore Ashton, stated "They speak of naturalism in opposition to modern art. I would like to know if anyone has ever seen a natural work of art. Nature and art being two different things, cannot be the same thing. Through art we express our conception of what nature is not." ( De Zayas, 1923)

In another opinion on nature Picasso compares art and nature in previous eras.

" Nature is one thing and painting is quite another. Painting is the equivalent of nature. We must thank the painters for the image we have of nature. We perceive it through their eyes. Generally speaking, we stick to to the reproduction which the classical painters gave us, like the painters of the seventeenth century, Poussin. The image they gave is accepted as the true nature, because their syntax is well established. But we have no assurance that this image is truer than other images created in other epochs. Actually it isn't anything more than a question of signs. It has been agreed upon that a specific sign represents a tree, another a house, a man, a woman; exactly as in a language the word 'man' evokes the image of a man, the word 'house' a house and this in all languages although in every language the word varies. It's an established convention by the use of these signs" (Warnod 1945)

What are your views on nature and modern art?

Abstract drawing-Der Barber

Using charcoal to explore a more textured line drawing journey across the page. The end result suggested, in an abstract way, figures in a barber shop. Pastels were used to enhance the background. The drawing was executed on paper.

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Abstract art - 3 the hard way

Notes to 3 the hard way

Using oil pastels, a medium that allows for fluid, unrestricted action, 3 figures emerged from the darkness and forcefully presented themselves on the page.

In 1911, Guillaume Apollinaire, the spokesman on Cubism wrote that they had accepted a profound connection between the Cubist multiple perspectives and the dynamic nonperspective conception of space-time and had made the concept of the fourth dimension a commonplace of modern aesthetics and the vocabulary of modern art.

"Dynamic nonperspective" seem to be a contradiction in terms, but the dynamism in a fluid, almost aggressive attack on the paper seem to propel the figures forward. Menacingly.

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Paul Klee's Pictorial Universe

One of the artist that I've read about avidly, is Paul Klee. Born in 1879, his was a brilliant career that incorporated Cubism, and the German alternative to Cubism - German Expressionism. Working with his friend Wassily Kandinsky, considered the father of Abstract art, as tutors at the Bauhaus. Much is written about both artists.

Today I wanted to draw reference to the wide ranging subject matter and sources, Klee incorporated in his inventions.

Phillip Larson wrote " His internal source books laid out Cubist frameworks, stratified color charts, calligraphic flourishes, children's drawings, proto-Surrealist doodles, toys and puppets, caricatures, tribal masks, minute zoological/biological specimens, architectural/theatrical perspectives, pictographs/hieroglyphs, and, of course, all keys to the German typewriter. To this day, no historian has secured the critical perimeters around the prodigious collector-progenitor."

His love for music, musical instruments and the theatre were also depicted in numerous drawings and paintings.

Wall of Silence

Wall of Silence

In many high-crime communities, you dare not speak out or report what you see.

This Abstract artwork evolved using oil pastels, Employing layers of color then scratching away the upper surface to reveal the underlying colors. Metaphorically revealing the 'truth.' Injustice is fast and violent. Justice is slow, tedious and unreliable. Silence is safer. Safety is sense. It seems.

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"Verdant" - Abstract artwork

VERDANT
Using oil pastels on black paper, meandering lines evolved into something abstract but tangible. After a long dry summer the land becomes verdant once more.

Today, distant rumble, dark ominous clouds warn of a downpour.

Worked on finishing two abstract pieces on paper, yesterday. I thought I was finished, but a new thought, a new technique changed the picture. Was it a piece of bad news that impelled me to slash red paint over a 'completed' piece? Who knows. When I'm working, the impulses intervene. I'm just a hand, a conduit.

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Abstract painting- Triad 3

Today, was spent reading emails and avidly following links to gain more information. Topics ranging from how to write a more interesting blog. To write topics that will engage the reader, to hold their attention, amuse and entertain them. In Success magazine - on creating a full life, maximize your days and leave a legacy. Then in my email folder dozens of offers to get rich quickly using online marketing. Great reading.

Now to return to my blog. The painting above was started with a vigorous brush outline in black, green was added to fill the spaces, then white paint was introduced to add volume to what was emerging. Three abstract personages emerged from the ochre background. Were they members of a triad, meeting to plot something sinister? Or were the swirls representing a karate kata? With abstract expressionism, many interpretations can be formed. It's interesting to hear comments by viewers, because individuals 'see' and interpret something that is subjective and relevant to their experiences. Quite different from what I see. After all, I'm using paint, shapes, form, color and texture to arrive at this end result.

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Synthesis 6 - Abstract Painting/Collage

Synthesis- fusing abstract elements

Synthesis is defined in the dictionary as follows- Combination, composition, putting together, building up of separate elements esp. of conceptions or propositions or facts, into a connected whole, esp. a theory or system; joining of divided parts.

This abstract painting/collage - "Synthesis 6" is a fused composition of line drawings, pastel, oil pastel, collage of paintings, magazine and other paper elements to build up a new entity of expanded forms. It was one of a series on the theory of synthesizing disparate, divided elements - abstract pen and ink drawings, old paintings,colored magazine paper- into a more unified composition.
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Stolen Oranges- abstract art

I guess it must have happened once too often. And that was it.

Many stories have been told, the one I heard: the owner in a fit of rage, hired a huge tractor and flattened 30 acres of his orange grove. Thieves were reaping more than he did. So he ended their plunder.

The title for the abstract work above, merely alluded to that event. What started as a monotype with black silkscreen ink, was enhanced by acrylic paint and pastels. It was done in a fast abstract expressionist style with little thought given to anything representational. It started with circular shapes that evolved into this final composition.

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Abstract art -Squarely

In the previous post, the painting's colors were distorted. Here's another upload of "Squarely"

Abstract Art: Squarely

Fusing the formal with the informal. Contrasting loose swirls of ink with geometric squares and rectangles. Life is like that. Hot days contrasting with cold nights. Light and dark. Good and bad. Abstract and representational. War and peace. Some win others lose. Resolving issues in abstract art is a constant dialectic of countering views.

The introduction of the internet and the web has opened new avenues for better control by the artist in exposing their work to a much wider audience. No longer the strict guiding hand of those who had exclusive access to buyers. Now there is much more control of the way to produce, promote, market and be better rewarded. Recently reading Hazel Dooney and her strong views on controlling every aspect of her work, was an eye-opener. With access to an online gallery - Yessy.com, this blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and my email, I've widened my access to an international audience. Hopefully, sales will follow.

This blog, helps in clarifying my thoughts on art and putting them out in short snippets, that when read in its entirety, will provide a better understanding of what I do, even to myself. At times, I'm inclined to explain the process of painting as a purely intuitive one. But, after painting, drawing and observing the works of countless numbers of artists, reading widely on their thoughts and style, I believe what emerges from my pen and brush is the cumulative output of years of study.

I'm totally engrossed in the creative process, when painting and drawing, oblivious of my surroundings, almost in a semi-conscious state, solving and resolving issues on art. Recently, I've started combining art with musical compositions, uploading on YouTube - http://youtube.com/Emooyoung This has opened new ideas and thoughts for future developments.


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Skeletal forms

Skeletal Forms
The abstract artwork, "Skeletal Forms" was painted a long time ago. While exploring bones, structures and the uncanny strength that supports so much weight, led to a total re-arrangement of how our anatomy is structured. The elements would be now used in an abstract and random combination, To form a new 'personage'. Paint, color, line and form would take precedence.

The charcoal drawing underlay, led to color being introduced, then background color was added, scraped, changed, obscured, new forms revealed and blended into a new and unique composition.

Acrylic paint is versatile-it can produce from pale watercolor washes, to heavy impasto, it can blend with any medium or technique and it can be over-painted endlessly. Thick watercolor paper is essential for this rigorous process. To seal and preserve the painting, two coats of acrylic varnish is recommended.

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Abstract Art-Seated Figure #7

Seated Figure #7, quietly emerged from a series of vertical lines. Lines drawn with pastels, oil pastels, charcoal, pencil and acrylics, the personage took a seat quietly. The lines accentuate planes of diverse thoughts and tangents, returning, eventually, to the central figure.

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Picasso's remarks on art

While browsing through my dusty collection of art books, I came across "Picasso on Art- A selection of views" by Dore Ashton.

Christian Zervos, in 1935, put down these remarks of Picasso immediately after a conversation with him. Here's an interesting excerpt,

"A picture is not thought out or settled beforehand. While it is being done it changes as one's thought change. And when it is finished, it still goes on changing, according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it. A picture lives a life like a living creature, undergoing the changes imposed on us by our life from day to day. This is natural enough, as the picture lives only through the man who is looking at it."

Abstract Painting -Roots

Consider the force of a tree root thrusting downward into dry parched earth. What a quiet but relentless force. Perhaps moving a millimetre per day. But if it is to survive, thrust it must. The abstract painting above "Roots Force" attempts to allude to this phenomenon. The small acrylic painting on paper, tries to demonstrate in plastic form, the aggressive movement of the brush in an abstract expressionistic style. In working, no real thought is given to styles or techniques, just a response to the intuition, guided by thoughts, mood, music and the colors at hand.

More paintings and drawings can be viewed by clicking on the videos at right.

Additional abstract paintings, unusual abstract drawings, collages, digital art and prints can be viewed at
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Purple Haze-Abstract painting

The Abstract mixed media painting is entitled "Purple Haze".

Must have been listening to Jimi Hendrix though I'm not so sure. Just glancing at "Are you Experienced" The CD by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Surprised to see that he, at various times, backed B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Chuck Jackson, and Jackie Wilson. He also backed Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner, before he started his own band. What a great start to his stellar, but short-lived career.

Just missed going to Woodstock to see him perform. A performance that some have described as one of the greatest guitar virtuso the rock world had ever seen.

Picasso once said " Everybody wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of a bird. Why does one love a night, a flower, everything that surrounds a man, without trying to understand it all? Abstract art is difficult to explain verbally. It alludes to something. Something simple or profound. It can move you, to love it or hate it. The effect can be immediate or transcendental, a challenge to the known, to the orderly.

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Abstract Painting influenced by Science?

I just read an interesting theory about the radical shift in thinking and the conception of reality that took place at the turn of the 20th century in Modern Art.

To quote from 'Painting in the Twentieth Century' by Werner Haftmann, - " Dates seem to suggest that some kind of connection exists between science and painting. The radical changes in painting took place between 1900 and 1910. Significant dates are: 1905 Fauvism; 1907 Cubism; 1910 the first abstract painting. A concordance of of dates important in the history of science runs thus: 1900 Planck's quantum theory; and Freud's Interpretation of Dreams; 1905 Einstein's special theory of relativity; 1908 Minkowski's mathematical formulation of the dimensions of space-time."

Many artists such as Klee, Kandinsky, Delaunay and others have stated that their encounters with the discoveries of natural science often threw light upon their own intuitive and artistic activity.

What do you think? That there was a close connection between the new discoveries in science and the radical shifts in the way art was viewed by the prominent and well read artists of these early periods of the 20th century? I think so.

Abstract art on the verandah

This abstract digital artwork evolved from a photo of our verandah, full of plants, that has been completely reworked. Digitally painted, retouched, splashed splattered, erased and then reworked again.

The bits and pieces of abstract color are symbolic of many hours spent sipping intensely satisfying cups of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the morning, watching the misty covered mountain and the sun interplay then sneak over the top. Here I've drawn many sketches, noted many thoughts...seeking to redefine myself, to welcome the new day. To live in the moment. To Awaken the Giant Within. As Tony Robbins states, the single most important step in weeding the gardens of our mind is to interrupt our limiting patterns. So the verandah provides the quiet time to prepare for the new day. Yesterday is past and gone forever, never to return. As some wise person has said- today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Tobias Wolff states "we define ourselves and our deepest values by the choices we make, day by day, hour by hour, over a lifetime."

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Abstract Digital art: "Light Variations"

Unlike the fear of a blank canvas or paper, when nothing seem to happen. The mind is as blank as the paper. Using a digital photo as a starting point brings its own set of mind freezing possibilities. The objective: to create something entirely new, unique, entirely different and... abstract.

It must have been music that encouraged me to keep abstracting, refining, reforming, retouching and reducing a digital photo into increasingly flattened forms. The various components artists use include line, shape, form, color, space, value and texture, to create a composition.

The fixed elements in a photo require that the aesthetic manipulations are in more selected areas. leaving central elements almost untouched. You 'arrive' at the outcome when you've exhausted many trials and techniques.

To view more abstract digital fusions, contemporary abstract paintings, unusual abstract drawings, unique abstract collages and prints, visit: http://www.yessy.com/emooyoung/gallery

Hierarchy in Abstract art

The definition of hierarchy in the dictionary will not be useful this time. The abstract painting alluded to the interlinking of family and the generations past, the myths, rituals, superstitions that resulted in what we have today. It is an abstract concept translated into a lyrical abstract expressionist form.

It's an experimental work, weaving from corners to the central forms and shapes leading to an undefined form. Background color was later added to the initial pencil drawing. The exploration continues.

More experimental abstract paintings, drawings, collages, unusual digital fusions, and prints can be viewed at
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Group travel:Escape into abstraction

Have you ever thought about losing everything? Escaping into the night with just the clothes on your back? So often, we read and see these stories, real life brutalities, more macabre and murderous than a Shakespearean tragedy. Unfolding on the nightly news. The genocide in Darfur and other places. The mass movement of thousands, even millions of people to refugee camps. People who once had a home, a family... a life.

One night of mindless slaughter and the panic begins. It's survival and communal, it's the desperate exodus to save the family. It's Group Travel.

Though the title came after the painting, no attempt was made to be descriptive of the real situation, abstract painting, drawing, form and color was used to allude to the tragedies unfolding nightly.

The triptych- "Group Travel" is a combination of acrylic paint, drawing and mixed media techniques on paper.

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Contemporary Abstract Collage-'Global"

Watching an episode of "Locked Up Abroad", reminded me of a small abstract collage painting I produced a few years ago - "Global".

Global travel is usually meant to be fun, educational or for business connections and development. But with the advent of 9/11, travel has its rewards but also filled with danger. North Korea, Iran and other countries can make innocent explorations a real trial. You could be designated a spy and that could be the beginning of a long and torturous journey back home.

"Global", is an abstract collage using elements of magazine clippings, line drawings, acrylic paint and oil pastels. The aligning of interlocking and diverse elements create new meanings, some ominous.

Additional and unusual abstract collages, contemporary abstract paintings, unique pen and pencil drawings, digital abstract fusions, and prints are available at http://www.yessy.com/emooyoung/gallery