Hobbies And Interests
Canvas
As long as you are making your own paintings, you might as well save some money and make your own canvas panels. If you know where an old place is being torn down or someone is remodeling, those roll-up window blinds are made of a very good quality canvas for painter̵7;s panels. Trim off the sewn edges and cut out pieces the size you want with an extra inch or two on the margins. Get beaverboard ̵1; a stiff cardboard ̵1; and cut it the size you want your panels to be. Evenly glue the entire back of the canvas and press it onto the beaverboard panel. Trim the overlapping corners so the margin flaps will fold onto the back and glue down. Leave the panel under a stack of heavy books for a day until the glue dries, then glue three to four layers of brown wrapping paper onto the back. Weight it and dry it.
Paints, Tools and Techniques
You will need several brushes, from very fine-tipped to one at least an inch wide. Adding one 2-inch brush won̵7;t hurt. You need a palette knife and a palette. You can purchase a pallette or make one out of anything with an impermeable surface. And old plate is a perfectly functional palette, as is a sheet of glass (just tape any sharp edges). You can experiment with mixing colors. You can dab, line-draw, drizzle from above or knife the paint onto the canvas. You can trace the outlines of various objects ̵1; circles from the bottoms of cups, hands, square corners from books or feathers. You can stamp on colors using objects with interesting patterns ̵1; like a cut apple or a footprint.
Tips for Beginners
Start simple. A few colors and a few bold lines will give you something upon which to reflect and with which to work. Start big and work toward details. Sometimes the best way to begin is to paint the whole canvas one color or to divide the canvas with a few bold strokes. Play with the paint. Try different gestures with different tools to see what kind of effect you get. Play with repetition for texture and slashing for the impression of motion. Repeat interesting ̶0;mistakes̶1; until they are no longer mistakes. Stop, look and listen. Sometimes just staring at what you̵7;ve done will eventually tell you what you want to do next.
Harmony
Abstracts are not meant to directly represent seen visual images, nor are they meant to always give the viewer a good feeling. Abstracts can be sad or light-hearted, mellow or angry, reflective or provocative. What every painting needs to be, however, is harmonious. There is no formula for harmony, but you will be able to see it when you have it and sense when you don̵7;t. The picture needs to look like it all belongs together on the same canvas. If it doesn̵7;t harmonize, that is only the bad news. There is good news. The good news about paintings that don̵7;t look right yet is that you can let them dry and paint right over them. Sometimes this will give you an unexpectedly neat effect.