Creating Abstract Art

283 Pages·2017·27.02 MB·English

by  Nimmer, Dean

Creating Abstract Art
Ideas and Inspirations for Passionate Art-Making
Dean Nimmer
Cincinnati, OH
CreateMixedMedia.com
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LAME DEER
Robert Neuman
Mixed media on canvas
Introduction
ALIEN ART CONNOISSEURS
Gary Hallgren
Ink on paper
Like the word art itself, abstract art cannot be clearly defined or categorized. I choose to go with the
flow, make work and celebrate abstract art for its nonconformist place in the world of art. In other
words, doing beats thinking about doing in this book. With certainty more artists than ever choose to
work abstractly, as they see an endless supply of ideas and uncharted territory yet to explore.
I believe the continuing interest in abstract art lies in its ability to inspire our curiosity about the
reaches of an artist’s creative subconscious.
My goal is to show you numerous pathways to looking at, thinking about and, most importantly,
creating abstract art. To achieve that, you’ll use the most valuable asset for making evocative and
meaningful abstract artwork: your innate curiosity.
You’ll find a focus here on the power of abstract art to delve into the surreal realms of imagery
swimming around in our heads. I want to help you find your own unique identity as an abstract artist
by addressing the obstacles that limit your creativity.
I aim to inspire you to move beyond the myths and stereotypes that abound for abstract art in order
to discover the myriad of possibilities for making inventive and original pictures without inhibition or
fear of failure, all the while enjoying the creative process itself!
To that end, I will not give you step-by-step instructions on making a particular style of abstract
painting or sculpture, nor will I give you a recipe for how to make something look abstract.
I want my experience from a forty-year career as an artist and art educator and nearly two hundred
exhibitions of my abstract work in the United States and abroad to motivate and encourage you to get
completely absorbed in creating abstract art yourself.
This book is organized much like my first publication, Art From Intuition, in that we’ll be working
with a base project description and series of exercises that start you out on a path, yet let you explore
different directions to take. In other words, I’ll give you an idea as a starting point and encourage you
to follow your own instincts to see what evolves from there.
That’s why the artworks shown in this book illustrate very different outcomes from the individuals
who began with the same set of guidelines. You’ll find several excellent projects in this book that
were first introduced in Art From Intuition but that have been expanded to focus on making abstract
art.
You can think of this book as a kind of scavenger hunt where you find clues that direct you to
something that excites your imagination. For those of you who are flea market fans like me, think
about the fun you have finding something exceptional hidden among the ordinary cast-offs. Finding
treasures in uncharted territory is the instinct I’m hoping to bring out in you.
In essence, I want this book to be fun to read and easy to use without exhausting your attention span
or your wallet. I’ll keep the emphasis on making instead of thinking about making. In addition, most
of the projects in this book can be created using low-tech, inexpensive materials.
Some basics to keep in mind:
This book is not set up to read or work from in chronological order. You can choose any chapter
or project that perks up your interest and begin making something without worrying that you’ve
skipped ahead and missed something you should know first.
The projects in the book should be approached as if you were sketching out an idea in a
spontaneous way rather than putting the finishing touches on a painting. In other words, I want
you to look for possibilities that you can develop further.
Each project is accompanied by sample works made by students and practicing artists showing
what each did with the same set of instructions. Again, these do not show what your piece
should look like; rather, each one represents an individual’s creative idea inspired by that
particular project.
Consider building specific categories of work that you may keep in separate folders or
portfolios as you do the projects in the book. I recommend you have these for sketch projects you
want to take further such as TBC (To Be Continued), where the sketch you made suggests a
bigger scale, using different materials or simply a new idea that you want to pursue from this
inspiration.
Your TBC portfolio can also provide you with useful parts that can be combined or collaged into
new works.
The other portfolio I’d keep is for those pieces you think you hate and you’d just as soon tear up.
The irony of the so-called “Hate It!” art you make is that you may change your mind once something is
tucked away for a few weeks, plus there may be some treasures in this “trash” that you didn’t see the
first time around.
In addition, any pieces you feel came out great or finished as they are can go in a separate portfolio
or be put on display as you choose.
The materials I recommend using in this book are generally inexpensive and easy to come by,
since I don’t want you to dwell on the cost or preciousness of what you’re making. You always
have the option of substituting any materials of your choice for those I’m recommending.
Some of the projects in this book may seem to overlap or use the same ingredients to reach
different conclusions. For example, a project in the basic elements section of chapter one that
focuses on line may also have a similar series of steps that conclude with a focus on texture.
There are important distinctions between line as the main character in one project and an
emphasis on texture in another.
I’ve included the works and artist statements by fifty artists in this publication so you can
consider the wide variety of ideas and approaches being practiced by abstract artists today. I
hope you find their work and ideas to be an inspiration to delve into abstract art yourself.
The projects offered in this book will not tell you the correct order of stages in a process to
achieve a desired result. To the contrary, I want to get your creative juices flowing and see
where your imagination takes you, and the desired result is one that can’t be precisely pictured
or described. In other words, you won’t hear me say or imply that any composition you come up
with “should” necessarily look anything like an artwork pictured in this book. And using this
book to inspire your art-making simply works better if you embrace the fact that every project
leads to choices and options that have any number of positive results.
Since you know you can’t control the likes and dislikes of anyone else, it’s important to focus on
what works for you and tune out the noise in your head about the possible popularity of what you
make.
I know that this more open-ended process can be somewhat frustrating, making you feel a bit adrift,
not knowing exactly where you’re going, but the need to take pleasure in exploring uncharted territory
is an essential part of the nature of abstraction that you can either embrace with enthusiasm for the
challenges it poses to your imagination or choose to constantly fight with that part of yourself that
insists on predictability and order. If that stuffy, opinionated part of yourself keeps winning out, you’ll
get less out of reading and practicing what’s in this book than you might have if you just let go!
You can be confident that whatever direction you pursue using the projects and ideas in this book,
you’ll have fun, and whatever your resulting picture or artwork looks like, your pieces will be a
unique personal expression from your own creative subconscious. And though you’ll make some
pieces you like and others you won’t like, the only thing you can do wrong in art is not make art.
STORM
Dean Nimmer
Oil, charcoal and graphite on paper
Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) is the first man who, with paint and brush, created a
nonrepresentational work of art. In his memoirs, Kandinsky described the actual moment of the
accidental discovery of nonrepresentational or abstract art when he was forty-four years old. Coming
home at sunset from an outdoor session 1910, his mind still absorbed by his work, he was struck as
he entered his studio by an “indescribably beautiful painting, all irradiated by an interior light.” In the
mysterious canvas he could distinguish only “forms and colors and no meaning.” Suddenly he realized
that it was one of his own paintings, turned on its side. “The next day I tried to recapture my previous
impression. I only succeeded half way. Even with the painting on its side, I could always find the
object, but the blue light of dusk was missing. I knew then precisely that objects were harming my
painting.” He felt “a terrifying abyss opening under my feet.” Suddenly one man, Kandinsky, stood up
and, instead of facing outward from himself, turned and looked into himself.
The Artist in His Studio, rev. ed— Liberman, Alexander
IMPROVISATION NO. 26 (ROWING), C. 1912
Wassily Kandinsky
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany / The
Bridgeman Art Library