Abstraction

Next week we are going to explore how all painting is essentially abstract in that it relies on the contrast of colours and shapes, even when painting "figuratively". We've explored the mechanisms of seeing forms contrasted against each other but also relating to each other (light/shadow, foreground/background). We will be working from life to give us a starting point, but will explore it mainly to see how we can break it up into elements, in a composition that plays with balance and tension.

Richard Diebenkorn is a a great example of a painter that tried to reconcile figurative art with abstraction and had periods in his painting that swung one way and then the other.

We will also be making the link between relationships of painted forms and what feelings they provoke, so be ready for a bit of gentle peer criticism.