Abstract Pictures - Abstract Paintings

Painting abstract pictures

Abstract pictures do not consist of instantly recognizable people or items but instead are unconventional artworks, some of which are incredibly expensive. Abstract artists when creating abstract pictures have free reign to express themselves in any way they choose with any medium they like.

Why work in abstract?

All art forms can be abstract including installations, painting, sculpture, carving and graffiti art but the key ingredient is that the finished work does not represent regular recognizable objects such as you would see in an oil portrait or landscape. Some art lovers do not like to have art explained to them as they prefer to work out what the painting means all by themselves. The explanation for abstract art might very well be abstract too!

Some people cannot see the point of abstract art but others are keen followers of abstraction in the artistic world. Abstract works may not be inspirational pictures but they are thought provoking as are all art paintings.

Abstraction movements

The abstraction movements are all recognized as ‘isms’ as in Expressionism, Cubism, and Fauvism. Hence, we have artists who were labeled as Cubists, Expressionists and so forth. Picasso was a famous Cubist and Matisse favored Fauvism. Abstract art still flourishes and is now in the mainstream and abstract painting and sculpture exhibitions are completely accepted by art galleries.

How to abstract paint?

One form of abstraction is to paint abstract pictures from you imagination rather than to use models and this does require good control techniques to transfer thought processes onto canvas. Thoughtless, abstract paintings where all conscious control is eliminated by the artist (the paint is applied to the canvas without thinking) is a form of abstraction that is completely ‘free’ or pure but is difficult to accomplish even though many beautiful paintings have been created by this method.

My top 5 abstract favorites

I love art of all types and my top 5 favorite abstract artists in the world are Jackson Pollock (American), Wassily Kandinsky (Russion), Pablo Picasso (Spanish), Gerhard Richter (German) and Rene Magritte (Belgian). The works of all 5 artists include many inspirational images that are well worth a visit if an exhibition is available near you. Their works can also be viewed on their respective artist websites.

Naming of abstract pictures

My advice is not to name an abstract work. If you name an abstract painting you immediately alter its abstraction and its effect on the viewer. When I look at abstract work I never check what the painting is called because it will alter my interpretation and cause me to look for whatever it is that the artist intended to convey by his/her naming of the piece. The beauty of abstraction is to find your own interpretation within the work.

Famous abstract pictures

by Dali and Rothko

A famous work (surrealistic image) by Salvador Dalí which he painted in 1931 is called The Persistence of Memory and it shows a weird landscape with several clock faces, all of which are melting away as if time itself was eroding.

American abstract artist

Mark Rothko was an American painter (although born in Russian) who painted large paintings, such as his abstract piece called "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" which sold for over $70 million. It measures 81 inches by x 55 inches and the entire bottom half of the painting is lavender which gradually lessens in color tone as it reaches the bottom of the canvas. Just above the lavender there is a narrow, horizontal, 8 inch white band. The uppermost section is yellow and is separated from the white by a black line.

Abstract art preferences

Abstract art can be a painting of circles, squares or lines, in black and white or with color between the geometric shapes. Alternatively, it might be a sculpture that looks like a familiar object (but you can’t quite make it out) or even a pen and ink drawing of something defying all logic, like a stairway to nowhere. Whatever your taste in abstract art there is sure to be abstract pictures and paintings available for you to enjoy and ponder and ponder and then ponder some more.