When I paint flowers, I find them a wonderful subject. They are easy to arrange and their colors become the jumping off point for my color scheme selection. Even though I create abstract paintings of flowers, their essence is very much still there, and their colors and delicacy are what “hit” the viewer.
This summer, I had the opportunity to visit the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Joan Mitchell exhibit. I was amazed by Joan Mitchell’s large-scale paintings, in which she used gestural aggressive brushstrokes with vivid color to convey her emotions. I especially enjoyed her paintings of sunflowers. Her sunflower paintings told an emotional story of the sunflower from beginning to end, with large masses of color energy pulling from the white areas of the canvas. What a compelling testament to the power and emotion behind painting flowers!
Members in The Painterly Way (my online abstract painting membership) are focusing on abstract floral painting this month. We’re having a ball with this topic! Abstract florals is the kind of genre that you could dive into for a month, a year, or a lifetime!
Speaking of diving in, I invite you to dive into your abstract painting process this fall with my 6-week course Basic to Brilliant, opening soon. If you’re looking to learn how to elevate your abstract paintings so they spark and sizzle, this is the course for you! Get on the waitlist here.
