I you want to be an artist but you are not a classically trained painter then abstract art paintings are the way to go. Creating abstract art is easy. It is you subconscious self that produces this art, that's why abstract paintings are always very interesting and appeals to different people in different ways.
If you use paper, the type of paper you should use will depend on what kind of paint you are using. For starters I recommend acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is easier to use because it dries faster. Using oil paint can get messy because it won't dry at all during one session and when beginners use oils they end up mixing all paint he/she has into a grey-brown abstract art blur.
You have 2 options when purchasing paper to paint on, it can either be primed or unprimed. If it's not primed, just apply a thin layer of paint(don't dilute it) and let it dry, but I recommend the former.
When your first starting out you want to buy the cheapest acrylic paint available because we're assuming you're only trying to amuse yourself at this point and with cheap paint you can splash it around freely not worrying about making your money back in profit.
One of the keywords in our approach to abstract art is spontaneity. This means letting your brush take control, allowing yourself to be like a shaman in a trance. The other side of abstract art - and of any other kind of art - is using your intelligence to guide your animal instincts.
Now, intelligence is a very nasty word, evoking images of geeks, nerds and other professors, but let me tell you this: You possess intelligence. And you're going to use it to paint abstract art, or else you'll end up an abstract expressionist with loads of talent but with helpless paintings. What we need is a plan.
What would you like to paint? What great artist would you like to be? Van Gogh, Mondrian, Bosch, Michelangelo, Klee, Chagall? To be a copy-cat is an excellent way to start painting, not just abstract art. This has been seen throughout history, where many historians attributed the success of many great French artists to their studies at the Louvre where they studied the techniques of great artists of the past. This is an accepted practice as long as you are aware of what forgery means and you don't attempt to do it. Copying is too strong a word for our purposes, by the way, because we will try to stimulate your imagination, but with a plan - and a little help.
You can also go about it in a different way, depending on how abstract you want your paintings to be. If you feel drawn to abstract expressionism, you may want to start painting without any plan and create as big a mess as possible, right away. That is, you paint random forms by instinct, without a preconceived plan. If painting this way you must know when to start and when to stop. A beginner will have a tendency of painting layer over layer and merging down most of the painting's color. Try not to paint layer over layer in a random, uncontrolled way. Be careful not to over paint things, if you are the least bit tired stop and wait to continue until the next session. Don't assume you can get your paintings done in one go, it takes discipline and judgment to know when to stop and wait for new insight and ideas.
So suppose you have started a painting that looks expressive. One possible way to elaborate on it is to take a small sized brush and try to accentuate the most relevant elements of your painting. You don't do this by thinking about it in a conscious sort of way, but try to imagine what it would feel like if you applied this brush stroke in that color to that location. Painting is intuition so just go with it. I can't expect you to understand everything I've said on this page, but I think you'll recognize many things as you get more experience. If I can make you think about your painting, instead of just messing about mindlessly (which for a beginner is the natural thing to do), then I think we have gained something. - 32620
If you use paper, the type of paper you should use will depend on what kind of paint you are using. For starters I recommend acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is easier to use because it dries faster. Using oil paint can get messy because it won't dry at all during one session and when beginners use oils they end up mixing all paint he/she has into a grey-brown abstract art blur.
You have 2 options when purchasing paper to paint on, it can either be primed or unprimed. If it's not primed, just apply a thin layer of paint(don't dilute it) and let it dry, but I recommend the former.
When your first starting out you want to buy the cheapest acrylic paint available because we're assuming you're only trying to amuse yourself at this point and with cheap paint you can splash it around freely not worrying about making your money back in profit.
One of the keywords in our approach to abstract art is spontaneity. This means letting your brush take control, allowing yourself to be like a shaman in a trance. The other side of abstract art - and of any other kind of art - is using your intelligence to guide your animal instincts.
Now, intelligence is a very nasty word, evoking images of geeks, nerds and other professors, but let me tell you this: You possess intelligence. And you're going to use it to paint abstract art, or else you'll end up an abstract expressionist with loads of talent but with helpless paintings. What we need is a plan.
What would you like to paint? What great artist would you like to be? Van Gogh, Mondrian, Bosch, Michelangelo, Klee, Chagall? To be a copy-cat is an excellent way to start painting, not just abstract art. This has been seen throughout history, where many historians attributed the success of many great French artists to their studies at the Louvre where they studied the techniques of great artists of the past. This is an accepted practice as long as you are aware of what forgery means and you don't attempt to do it. Copying is too strong a word for our purposes, by the way, because we will try to stimulate your imagination, but with a plan - and a little help.
You can also go about it in a different way, depending on how abstract you want your paintings to be. If you feel drawn to abstract expressionism, you may want to start painting without any plan and create as big a mess as possible, right away. That is, you paint random forms by instinct, without a preconceived plan. If painting this way you must know when to start and when to stop. A beginner will have a tendency of painting layer over layer and merging down most of the painting's color. Try not to paint layer over layer in a random, uncontrolled way. Be careful not to over paint things, if you are the least bit tired stop and wait to continue until the next session. Don't assume you can get your paintings done in one go, it takes discipline and judgment to know when to stop and wait for new insight and ideas.
So suppose you have started a painting that looks expressive. One possible way to elaborate on it is to take a small sized brush and try to accentuate the most relevant elements of your painting. You don't do this by thinking about it in a conscious sort of way, but try to imagine what it would feel like if you applied this brush stroke in that color to that location. Painting is intuition so just go with it. I can't expect you to understand everything I've said on this page, but I think you'll recognize many things as you get more experience. If I can make you think about your painting, instead of just messing about mindlessly (which for a beginner is the natural thing to do), then I think we have gained something. - 32620
About the Author:
Find more information about how to create abstract art paintings at my website Hawtin Arts. Also see Popular Art for local popular artists.
