Abstract drawings. Objectivity and abstraction - what are they?

Have you ever looked at a painting and heard someone say, “I could paint exactly the same thing!”? Abstract painting seems very simple to many, but it can be more difficult to do than classical painting. This is explained by the fact that abstractionism rejects rules and norms. Only you can decide whether to break the rules, how to express yourself, and what you consider art. First, prepare for a painting class, then decide what you want to create: an abstract geometric painting in the spirit of Paul Janko or Thornton Willis, a minimalist geometric abstraction with bright spots (in the style of Pie Mondrian or Paul Klee) or you want to pay more attention to the painting process itself (like Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko).

Steps

Preparation

Choose a canvas. You can buy ready-made canvas of any size in a special store. It can be used immediately, and there is no need to stretch or prepare the canvas for work. Very often abstract artists use an unstretched and unprepared canvas.

• If the background is colored, buy a can of gesso and apply it to the canvas. Gesso will dry fairly quickly.

1. Choose paints. Decide what kind of paint you will use: acrylic or oil. Acrylic paint has no odor and is easy to work with because it dries quickly, and you can apply another layer on top of one if you do something wrong somewhere. Oil paint It is used less often because it takes longer to dry, it has a smell, and it does not allow you to paint over areas with marks.

   Select brushes and other tools. Choose any brushes you can work with. To add texture to the picture, you can use a special knife for applying paint. Many artists work with an easel, but abstract artists often prefer to place the canvas on the floor to be closer to their work.

   • If you're not sure how colors will go together, buy a color wheel. It will help you figure out which colors look good together.

2. Wear special clothing. Everything will depend on how “dirty” your work will be, but in any case it won’t hurt to change into old clothes. If you wear things that you don't mind getting dirty, you can completely immerse yourself in the process of painting and creating an abstract picture.

   • You can cover the floor with old newspapers to avoid getting paint on it, especially if you're going to be splashing paint or laying the canvas on the ground.

Learning Color Theory

1. Buy a color wheel. Color wheel- this is a special tool on which colors are located. It is useful for understanding the relationships between colors: what looks good next to each other, what hurts the eye, and so on.

   • You can find a color wheel at an art supply store, a craft store, or in the paint aisle of a supermarket.

2. Learn to distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary colors. The color wheel is divided into three parts. Primary colors are red, blue, yellow. Secondary colors are obtained by mixing primary colors: green, orange, lilac. Tertiary colors are the result of mixing primary and secondary colors: yellow with orange, red with orange, red with lilac, blue with lilac, blue with green and yellow with green.

   • To better understand how colors appear, try making your own color wheel.

3. Find out what warm and cool colors are. Warm colors (red, yellow, orange and all shades of these colors) create a feeling of movement in space. Cool colors (blue, green, lilac and all shades) create a feeling of retreat or stillness. These colors are calming.

   • Black, white and gray are considered neutral colors.

4. Work with color combinations. There are several formulas for choosing a color combination. Try combining:

Arbitrary geometric abstraction

Create a textured background.

• You can leave the canvas smooth. There are no rules regarding the texture of the canvas you will be working on, and many artists paint on a "bare" canvas.

1. Apply duct tape so that the lines intersect. Using special adhesive tape, mark several lines that would create geometric shapes: triangles, squares, rectangles. It is important to depict figures that are far from reality. With the help of special adhesive tape you will be able to draw perfectly straight lines.

   • Instead of tape, you can use a ruler and pencil. If you don't want to paint over empty seats, which will remain after the tape is removed, you can mark the drawing with a pencil and ruler. Mark the points and put a ruler - this way you will get a geometric figure.

2. Mix the colors. Decide what colors you will use. Mix paints on a palette or plate. You can mix paints directly on the canvas, but you can make mistakes this way.

   Fill in the spaces between the tape lines. Don't worry about paint getting on the tape, and don't feel like you have to paint the entire canvas.

   • Some abstract artists outline the colors for all the figures first, while others decide which colors to use as they go along.

3. Remove the tape. When you think you are done, remove the duct tape. If you want perfectly smooth edges, remove the tape before the paint has time to dry. If you pull the tape on a dry painting, it may come off along with the paint, causing unsightly edges.

   Fill in any gaps left by tape (optional). When you remove the tape, you will notice white lines where the tape was. You can leave them, or you can paint them over.

Minimalistic geometric abstraction

Create a textured background. The easiest way is to apply professional gesso - a dense base with a gel consistency. Apply it like paint or spread it onto the canvas with a special knife if the gesso is very thick. This will help you create the desired surface texture.

• You can also use thick paper or poster board. With them you do not need to prepare the surface.

1. Use a pencil and ruler to draw the lines. You can spend several horizontal lines at different distances from each other and several vertical. Draw any number of lines, but remember that what fewer lines, the larger the squares and rectangles will be.

   Paint over the pencil lines. Draw thick lines with black paint. Some lines can be made thicker and others thinner. Your painting will now look like a grid of black lines.

   Color in some squares and rectangles. Fill the shapes with paint of primary colors (red, blue, yellow). You can paint over all the shapes, but your painting will look too colorful. It is better to select several shapes and paint only them - this way they will stand out more against the background.

What is abstraction in the broad sense and in painting? Why does this genre have so many fierce opponents, despite its extreme popularity?

Objectivity and abstraction - what are they?

In the classical sense, abstraction is an idea that does not have a substantive embodiment. Good deed concrete, and humanism is already an abstraction. The Criminal Code is extremely material in every sense of the word, and justice itself, without effective implementation, cannot be imagined. Philosophy or higher mathematics are sciences that can neither be applied in everyday life nor filled with real objects; they study what is in the world in material form does not exist. They are abstract.

Abstract art

Art can also be intangible. The most obvious abstraction is music. It is intangible, perceived at the level of emotions and incorporeal, elusive associations.

But not only a melody without words can be abstract. Some poems also do not have a clearly defined meaning, and not at all because their authors do not know how to write. This is the planned effect that poets of a certain literary movement strive for. Evoke emotions that are not supported by words, based only on associations inspired by the unusual sound of words. For example, the works of Velimir Khlebnikov are mostly abstract.

In painting, abstraction is paintings that depict not specific objects, but the artist’s mood. Let's say, a painting called “Rain” will depict not a summer shower or a dull autumn drop, but the emotions of the painter observing the elements. It is these that the abstract artist will strive to convey to the viewer.

Abstract painting

The combination of shapes and colors should, according to the authors of the paintings, evoke certain thoughts, feelings, and emotions in the audience. An abstraction depicting flowers can be a chaotic mixture of motley, shapeless spots. It is this striking combination of colors, the exuberant brightness of the strokes that should convey the artist’s emotional impression of the flowering meadow he saw.

There is no need to confuse this direction of painting with others, also dissimilar to classical realism. Cubism, for example, still depicts concrete objects and scenes, just in a specific style, which abstraction does not do.

A flower painted by a cubist may look like triangular or square petals scattered across the canvas of the painting, pressed down by an oddly shaped object, which is supposed to symbolize a vase.

The fact is that cubism and abstractionism have different tasks and means of solving them. Cubists believe that painting is a dictate of form, it underlies the process and is beautiful in itself. The face is an oval, the nose is a triangle, the eye is a circle. Cubists play with form, thus structuring the space of the canvas.

How does abstractionism differ from similar styles of painting?

However, without a signature it is difficult to understand what exactly is depicted in the Cubist’s painting - cows grazing in a meadow or flowers. Abstraction in this regard is also very mysterious. But the signature a picturesque canvas the situation with cubism still clarifies, and formal similarities of the depicted objects can be found.

An abstract flower will turn into a chaos of colors and shapes. It is not a material object encrypted in a form. This is the emotion encrypted in it.

Any other type of painting will use objects and events associated with these emotions to depict sadness or joy. Sadness - autumn garden, joy - laughing people. It is not so important in what style it will all be depicted. And only abstractionists will paint simply sadness and joy, without any equivocation.

Founders of the genre

Founder abstract painting Consider Wassily Kandinsky. His contemporary, Kazimir Malevich, also worked a lot in this genre and, perhaps, is known even more than Kandinsky. His famous painting“Black Square” is a classic abstraction. The white and red paintings, which form the logical continuation of this series, are less known. It's hard to say why. In this case it is really difficult.

Because there are simply no factors that provide any significant difference. The only explanation is that it was “Black Square” that was accidentally noticed by the public first, it shocked and shocked. Naturally, similar works executed in a different color scheme, they could no longer produce such an impression.

It seems like a strange paradox that modern abstract art considers it the most intense and expressive white. He is the top of the spectrum, all colors in one.

Genre criticism

Critics of this trend argue that associations are a purely individual matter. What one person sees as a cheerful combination of colors, another will perceive as aggressive. Therefore, the most beautiful abstraction means as much as the signature underneath it. The decoding code for this art is too individual.

So much so that one can, in principle, doubt whether it exists. If a painting without a title generates as many interpretations as it has viewers, then the act of transmitting information can be considered failed. Abstraction is a personal genre. It is so designed for individual perception that it is already difficult to talk about the role of the artist in creating the picture. The process of deciphering the information code of a work practically does not depend on his efforts. Everything that is found in abstract painting the viewer - it is not so much in the picture as in his own head. The crystal embodiment of this method of decoding a message is the famous “Black Square”. There is nothing in it - and everything can be found in it. Any idea, any association that a canvas painted with black paint can generate is a direct result of the artist’s work. But these thoughts belong to the viewer.

The concept of the technical quality of a painting is leveled out. You can judge the quality of drawing by looking at paintings by Raphael or Degas, Pirasmani or Picasso. Praise or scold, but at least judge. In abstract art this criterion turns out to be ineffective.

It is impossible to understand an abstract artist and objectively evaluate him. A beautiful abstraction is no different from an ugly one, because there can be no criteria for evaluating such works. What the viewer considers beautiful is beautiful. Actually, this thesis applies to everything contemporary art. What the viewer considers art is what it is.

Why is abstract art so popular?

The opposite point of view on abstractionism surprisingly coincides in terms of argumentation with that expressed above. All that critics consider to be a shortcoming of the genre, so serious that the question arises as to whether “this” is art in principle, fans consider precisely arguments in favor of the genius of the art direction. And also quite reasoned.

Art is not technology or everyday life. It sounds corny, but it's true. The task of art is not to educate or educate the viewer. This is what pedagogy does. The goal of art is not to “do good.” All that art should do is to give a person moments of communication with beauty and eternity. And it doesn’t matter how. Food should be nutritious and tasty. The technology is efficient and reliable. But even regarding these extremely everyday things, there is no consensus of opinion. Some taste it, some don't. Some use smartphones, others do not recognize anything other than push-button phones. So is it possible to demand objectivity from the assessment of art?

Yes, this direction of painting offers the viewer drawings devoid of objectivity. Abstraction stands above the framework of form; it directly speaks to the consciousness of the consumer of a work of art. Someone who can appreciate classical painting, relies on its own cultural and intellectual baggage. That is, the evaluation criteria, by definition, are in the viewer’s head. So what's the difference then? Why waste time on conventions when you can talk directly? It is this immediate response, its high personal orientation that are the main arguments in favor of the genre. This is not a disadvantage, but an advantage.

In order to realistically depict a complex still life or landscape on paper or canvas, you need to be able to draw. Even those who have never felt artistic talent can make a basic abstract drawing. Don't believe me? Take a sheet of paper and try to create some kind of composition using ordinary ones. Well, for example, like the one in the picture on the right.

You can use a compass and ruler for convenience. Well, how did it work out? Congratulations, you have drawn your first abstraction! As you can see, anyone can do abstract ones. It is unlikely that such a picture can claim the high title of a work of art, but hard trouble is the beginning!

and abstract art?

In the beginning there was a word and that word was abstractio, which translated from Latin means distraction or removal. Abstract artists refuse realistic image the surrounding world. Instead, they operate with various geometric shapes and color spots, trying to achieve harmony and evoke a bright feeling in the audience.

The Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky is considered to be the founder of abstract art. No less famous is another artist who stood at the origins of abstract painting - Kazimir Malevich. Probably everyone remembers his famous abstract drawing “Black Square”. Great masters worked in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Other big name- Pablo Picasso, who left a whole gallery of wonderful examples of abstract art.

How to draw an abstract picture?

Nothing can stop a person from drawing if he wants to. In order to create an abstract drawing or a full-fledged painting, you just need to give yourself the opportunity to relax and not be afraid of anything. Painting and drawing are an opportunity for self-expression. With the help of symbols, geometric shapes or color spots you can express your mood and give vent to your subconscious.

You can start with simple lines, smooth or, conversely, angular - it all depends on your imagination. When graphic drawing will be finished, you can start filling it with color. There are no special rules here. Just turn off your consciousness and draw freely the way children do - with their souls.

What paints and materials are suitable for abstract painting?

An abstract drawing can be made with any paints, pastels, wax crayons or colored pencils. Acrylic paints are very suitable for novice creators - they are bright and dry very quickly. Even if you make a mistake and want to correct it, then acrylic paints it's not difficult to do. In addition, they can be used to write on both canvas and paper.

You can choose any brushes, but bristle or core brushes are best. You can use synthetic brushes. If you want to work only with color, then you can completely abandon brushes and pick up a sponge or pieces of foam rubber. They are great for applying paint to wood, canvas or paper substrates.

How to draw an abstraction on a computer?

Another way to create original abstractions is to learn how to draw them on a computer. To do this, you can use Photoshop, Illustrator or CorelDraw. True, here you will have to spend a lot of effort in order to tame these monsters computer graphics. Eat special programs, in which abstract fractal patterns can be generated. Perhaps you will become a real digital artist and create beautiful abstract flower drawings - fractals.

Currently, there are many good lessons on working in the Internet posted on the Internet. graphic editors, so there are no obstacles in the pursuit of mastering computer graphics.

Having mastered the basic techniques of working with wax, you can move directly to creativity. To create the abstract monochromatic image shown in the photographs, you will need to combine techniques you already know.

First, using the smoothing method, cover the cardboard with wax of the same color. If there is not enough wax on the iron to cover all the cardboard at once, apply wax to the sole again and add it to the layer already transferred to the paper.

Then experiment with impressions and brushstrokes to see how the image changes. When the wax has cooled, buff it with a soft cloth. Move the cloth in one direction until an even shine appears. Be careful not to press the wax too hard as this will rub it off the cardboard.

Combine techniques to create a simple abstract image.

Use a soft cloth to buff off the wax.

Learning to draw with an iron simple figures, try to create a simple monochromatic landscape. Using the smoothing method, draw the horizon and hills in the distance; using the imprint method - foliage in the foreground; the side of the sole is grass; the tip of the iron - a bird.

1. Melt a sufficient amount of wax on the bottom of the sole, close to the edge (if you are left-handed, repeat the same in a mirror image). If you turn the iron upside down, the wax should be on the top half of the sole.

3. Turn the cardboard as shown in the picture, apply the iron to it and immediately tear it off, so that the bottom edge of the sole is still pressed against the cardboard. If the image is dim and too choppy, apply more wax to the iron and repeat the impression.

2. Place the iron along the cardboard so that its point falls exactly in the middle of the width. Smoothly run the iron over the cardboard, applying the wax to it in one layer.

4. Keeping a close eye on the iron, place its curved edge on the cardboard as shown in the photo, slightly moving away from the edge. Slowly move the iron forward as if cutting a line into the wax layer. Draw a few more lines in the same way.

Here you can find abstract pictures, drawings and photos on a variety of topics.

Abstract pictures attract those who want to put something with a deep and vague meaning on their profile picture, status page, or desktop. This abstract and mysterious picture depicts a fairy-tale blizzard.

And in this abstract picture there are fragments of ice like a kind of fractal of something formidable and unknown.

Abstract pictures resembling a flower especially attract the female sex. And this is not surprising. The abstract flower is good!) The photo is impressive!)

And here is a female representative: a thoughtful and mysterious girl.

Beautiful abstract picture.

And this abstract drawing, a mystery of nature, seems to be an alloy of something unknown and sinister.

This abstract balloon image expresses strength, strength and optimism. Fractal of optimism! Just right for the desktop.

Abstract drawing of fire and flames for aggressive natures.

Abstract drawing with a beautiful parrot! But he looks like a formidable eagle.

Abstract drawing of a fairytale labyrinth. Mysterious extravaganza!

Abstract drawing with mysterious and fairy cat. Cats and cats are mystical creatures.

This abstract drawing also seems to be the embodiment of optimism, strength and hope. The picture optimism is an extravaganza of power and rebirth.

Abstract drawing like a fractal of a mysterious and enchanting spiral. The spiral picture is bright and festive!)

Abstract drawing as a symbol of universal robotization. What a bright picture!) Enchanting robotization.

The photo shows abstract flowers on a black background. Mysterious picture.

In the picture, the king of beasts is a fairy-tale lion.

The photo shows an extravaganza of multi-colored lightning. Picture of sea and fire! Abstract pictures are so “talking”!)

The photo shows an abstract drawing of an angel with wings.

Wonderful fractal with butterflies and flowers. Blue extravaganza!

Fractal of color, lines, colors. Fairytale flowers. Women's theme. Bright abstract pictures are impressive!)

A mysterious fractal about meetings and partings. Or just meetings? The drawing is a mystery.

Extravaganza with blue flowers. Girls love such abstract pictures.