This is a book of ideas for working in a purely abstract style, but also one which suggests ways of seeing and working by means of a series of exercises that introduces 65 different approaches.
These exercises are the heart of the book and each one is arranged across two pages with a finished painting on the right and, on the left, notes which explain the artist’s intention and the techniques used to achieve it.
Abstraction is as much a state of mind and a way of seeing as anything else. It doesn’t really have techniques of application that are any different to conventional painting. so what it comes down to is structure, shape and colour. As such, it’s a difficult subject to teach – and an even more difficult one to teach through a book – because you either understand the mindset behind it or you don’t. If you look at an abstract and think, “my dog could do better than that”, then it’s a reasonable assumption that this is not for you. If, however, you’re intrigued by the subject but don’t feel you know where to start, then this book will help you a long way towards the end of the road. The simple, straightforward, approach removes pretty much all the mystique and the rigidly standardised layout means that you’ll feel at home pretty quickly and won’t have to spend a long time re-acclimatising yourself every time you turn a page.
Search Press 2008
£12.99
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