Trying to be More Abstract

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….more difficult than I thought

I’ve done two more painting of the cliffs at Howth and I’m trying to be less rigid and looser in my approach with shapes and lines. I’m not there yet but each painting is slightly different from the first one that I attempted a couple of days ago. I’ll keep trying.

….trying to be less rigid on days 174 and 175

The second assignment with Anita Lehmann was to do a series of landscapes using the same elements we used for our pears. Anita is trying to get us to pull out shapes to create an abstract painting. I chose a photo that I took when I was in Ireland. We took a hike along the cliffs of Howth and I took this photo overlooking the Irish Channel.

Here are my studies:

The following piece was my first motive painting. I realized as I was painting that I was being too finicky and that I needed to be more relaxed and loose. Some of the comments that I received were ‘You have made some great marks – i would try and go more abstract if that’s the direction you want to take in this class. Just a suggestion of rock, grass and sea..’ and ‘Your many studies become wonderful investigation of the next steps in a landscape and perhaps the mood or mark that becomes true to the concepts you wish to convey.