Abstract Painting workshop, Part 1

Recently I attended a wonderful workshop in abstract painting and collage, taught by Jane Davies.

One of the first things we did was to paint collage papers, choosing two complementary colours. These were not meant to be patterned. Rather, they were meant to show a wide variety of hue and value.

For example, I chose blue and orange, and my task was to paint swatches about 4" x 6" that read as blue or as orange. But the blues were to extend from blue-violet to blue-green in their hues, though still "reading" as blue. They were also to include light and dark, and greyed-down tones too. Similarly, I  created collage papers in a wide range of oranges, from yellow-orange to red-orange, dull and bright, light and dark.

a blue background with wide range of dark and light,
from blue-violet to blue-green

The next step in the exercise was to paint papers measuring 6" x 6" as backgrounds. Once again, they were to be painted either in blue or in orange, using a wide variety of light and dark, and a wide range of hue.

Next, we were to cut out shapes from the collage paper to add interest to the backgrounds. We could also add line. (See the photo above.)

Our final objective was to create little compositions that combined both the complementary colours in different ratios. Using orange backgrounds, I added blue shapes and blue paint in these proportions: 90:10, 75:25, and 50:50. And then using blue backgrounds, I made compositions by adding orange shapes and orange paint to achieve the same proportions.

Would you say the visual impact of this composition is about
balanced, 50% blue and 50% orange? 40:60?

This one qualifies as 25% blue, 75% orange, I'd say.

Likewise this one?

And this one?

This one might be 10% orange, 90% blue.
It would be improved with some more dark blue,
don't you think?

The proportions were to be assessed by their "visual impact" rather than strictly by the square inch.

Here's an example that might technically be only 10% orange,
but it reads more like 25% orange.

It was generally agreed by the class that compositions were more exciting with a preponderance of one colour over the other, eg. the 90:10 ratio or even 95:5. It was more difficult to make an interesting composition when the colours were evenly balanced.

It also became clear that the compositions were more energized with a range of hue and value.

And the activity served as a great warm-up for the work to follow. We had lots of opportunity to look for variety in all aspects, which makes compositions more interesting. Some of the contrasts were:

bright vs. dull
dark vs. light
transparent vs. opaque
round vs. rectilinear
soft edges vs. hard edges vs. torn edges
pattern vs. solid
using a wide range of scale: tiny, small, medium, large, extra-large
creating texture with a roller, a sponge, dry-brush, lifting paint, dripping paint, flicking paint, spritzing paint with alcohol or water, softening with a fingertip, smudging, sgraffito, and impasto

A really useful exercise, and something one could try at home, solo or with a small group. Of course there's no substitute for getting feedback from a larger group, and having the guidance of an excellent teacher like Jane Davies. If you visit her website, you'll find lots of short instructional videos, lists of recommended materials, as well as links to downloaded, on-line and real-time workshops, and of course work for sale.