I myself, just like many of you out there have often asked myself.... mmmm..... what the Hell is goin on with abstract art! I mean, I always thought, who cares and that sure doesn't take any talent. It looks like someone puked on that canvas and are now trying to pass it off as art. Where are the beautiful nudes or even a basket of painted fruit? Often I would go to galleries and look at abstract work and even after filling my pot belly on free wine and cheese, I still couldn't make any sense of it. Please forgive me art students. I came from being a self taught artist and cut my teeth on drawing skills earned in the tattoo shops of So. Cal. By no means am I a naive person when it comes to art, I even believe Donald Trump has been quoted as saying some art work is a scam! Well what does he know about art anyhow! YOUR FIRED TRUMP.
So this year I did what I never thought I would do. I have challenged myself to create my own line of abstract work. From the beginning, I thought this will be nothing to it. I'll just chuck some old paint I have on some canvas and that'll be it. I mean it can't be any harder than tattooing a portrait or painting a chopper. Can it? Wow. Was I in for a surprise. I understand color theory, composition and so on... But I tell ya it's not just throwing paint anymore. First of all that paint gets expensive and not to mention canvas. Nothin like seeing $10 of paint fly across the room and partially hit the canvas and say, whoa... I hope that splash meant something or did something transcending at least. Cause I just blew 10 buckaroos. Whew....
However, I realized... how do you create something with meaning without a definite shape. For me it was always easy to capture an expression in a portrait or the terror of a demon graphic etc... This was new. I had to even look up the word to get a better understanding of what I was trying to envision. Abstract: thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances: an abstract idea. mmmmm... OK.
Actually I have a new fond love/hate relationship with this work. I am in deep search for painting techniques and experimentation at the moment that will help my convey these designs. This work requires no thought and no rules but at the same time there is a formula to be appealing to the eye and something that will suspend the viewers attention for awhile and let them conjuer up emotions. So it does require thought? mmm.... Man I'm tired already. This work is challenging because it requires one to step out of our daily thoughts and climb out of the box and vibrate in another dimension. I know I'm getting artsy on ya, but really I now feel that is the whole point. At least for me. I can't wait to get my new work up here to show you guys. Hopefully you feel it and not think it looks like I hurled bad sushi on it! Well... In the words of an old art buddy of mine once said, " I use whatever it takes to get the painting done and on to the next!" Who knows... Bad sushi might do the trick.
JCD
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