7

Seven

This started out as an abstract but morphed into this.  As I worked my thoughts were to have scrapped concrete on the lower portion for a rough textural surface.  I would then fill in the upper portion with a leveling compound and finish it off with a shiny enamel paint.  After all dried and cured I would scratch the 7 back into it to resemble graffiti or something.

This image is just oil paint on paper and at 5x7 is quite small.  The one I was dreaming about would have been in the 24 x 36 inch realm.  Unfortunately, after completing this little study, I can see now the bigger version just wouldn't work out right.  The contrasting surface treatments would be good but I do not feel the overall image is enough to sustain it's life.  It is simply too simple.  At a larger size the white enamel would give you nothing to look at and ponder over.  Unless I had more images and words scratched into it at a smaller scale - Hmmmmm?

This is a complete break away from anything I have done in the past.  It's good to experiment and try new things but also good to know when to stop. 

Larry

It needs a shift. Right?

A Shift to Green, 6x6 oil on paper

I don't have much to say about this painting.  I was just play'in with the square format.  I generally like the earth toned paintings better, but this one just got a little too pink-ish for me.  I'm just not love'in it with the green.  To be honest it looks like baby poo.  Yea, not the best sales tactic, say'in your work looks like poo.

I should have shifted all the colors to the green side of the force. 

I also should have probably tossed this one but something about it made me keep it.  80% of the time I don't like it but there are some days I look at it and say "It's not bad."

What do you think?  Good or Bad?


Larry

Lift Off- Where's it going?

Lift Off, 5x7 oil on paper

This abstract painting started with a streak of bright yellow paint.  And with only this bright yellow paint it sat in the studio for a week before I touched it again.  I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't think the placement of the yellow was good as it was way off balance.

When I did start working on it again I started laying in colors around the yellow.  The yellow still really bugged me though.  I kept thinking it looked like projectile vomit.  I had this vision stuck in my head and I couldn't get beyond it.  You know what I did?  I tossed it in the trash can.  Actually, I flicked it into the trash like when you flick a playing card.  It landed perfectly in the trash can from across the studio.  It was a good shot!

But that's when I saw it, the yellow streak was up top and I was looking at it from a distance.  It looks like a rocket flying off the paper. Where's this rocket going? Is it one my son makes (He's in school to be an Astronomical Engineer - go boy!) I retrieved the art and went back to work.  No more vomit, just fire and smoke now.  Hopefully I have chosen the right title.  If I would have named it "projectile vomit" you would probably be looking at it differently right now.

Sometimes it helps to clear your mind and take another look.

Larry

An angel appeared

Angel , 5x7 oil on paper

The initial point of abstract art is that it is void of any recognizable shapes or items.  This is what made  Jackson Pollock so famous.  He eliminated everything but the color by dripping the paint onto the canvas.  For the time, this was the pinnacle of abstraction.  You have to understand that a simple brush stroke on a canvas is in fact a line, a recognizable element. Well, there's a lot of different theories you can study and learn more about Abstract Art in books, or online.  My way of thinking of abstraction is simple and I'm not here to say who's right and who's wrong?  Actually, the person who's right may be the person paying for the painting?

In my abstract art I am simply playing with color, texture and maybe a bit of form. Most of the recognizable elements in my art come from the scratching or doodling I do directly into the wet paint.  Often times the doodling is simple geometric shapes, other time they are simple icons, like a heart or a cross.  Everything I add to an abstract is there for the beauty and balance of the image but the individual elements do not necessarily tell a story or convey an idea.  In fact the titles have more information or may lead you into a certain direction more than the actual painting or doodles.

In my painting Angel, seen above, an angel appeared in the paint.  I thought it was interesting and so I kept her there.  I did touch her up a bit to make her a little more prominent, but not much.  I think I achieved balance in this painting when I added the little yellow dot near the top.  It almost appears as a moon or star.  I have noticed that when I make something recognizable (like the angel) other things take on related shapes (like the star) and our minds start to put conceived puzzle pieces together to try and make a story.  This is interesting to me because the Angel is just a blob of paint.  No story to be had.  The yellow dot was just a bit of warmth added to compliment the bottom warm colors.

Funny how things develop.

Larry

Commited to what?

Committed  oil on paper  Larry Reinhart

I have just started the next phase of committing myself to my abstract art.  I am now working on my web site, adding a new portfolio page tilted "Abstract World."  When I get it complete I'll share it and you'll be the first to see it.  I'm not exactly sold on the title yet, still pondering it.  I'm guessing the new portfolio will take most of two weeks to get it up and published online.  I like to think about things, a lot, before I go public.  I also tend to be a neat freak when it comes to design.  I want things to line up and be balanced so there is a lot of nudging two pixels this way or that way.  I see this neat freak stuff a lot in my personal life too.  Not a squeaky clean sort of neat freak but more freaky about other things.  I like my ducks in a row.  That's probably why I love painting so much.  In my Obsessions work there is the organization of the sketch, the reference and the color choices but when it comes time to paint, I just paint.  I get lost in it, it's like a break from reality.  It truly is -  I can be yawning and tired but if I pick up a brush and start painting I'll have to force myself to go to sleep 3-4 hours later.   This break from reality is true for the abstract art too, but there's a lot less preconceived work and a lot more getting lost.

The painting above, tilted "Committed" was a piece I was getting ready to abandon.  I wasn't happy with it.  It was mainly a color issue, but I don't like tossing paintings at the slightest problem.  I do have some patience and I will think about the painting a great deal before acting upon my initial thoughts.  Eventually this one got a couple layers of glazing and certain areas got wiped back out.  Metaphorically it was buried under layers of paint then wiped clean for a rebirth.  That's not squeaky clean but it's still a bit freaky - Ya' know.  I am happy with it now though.  I guess that's all that matters.

Have a good day and stay committed to everything you do!

Larry

An abstracted way of looking at things.

Fault Line 2017 oil on paper Larry Reinhart

Artist do many things to play in the art world, like going to a cafe to sketch people.  When I play, I make abstract art.

For me, abstract art started out as just playing with colors.  This is what I liked the most, it was just me and the paint colors.  There's no reference material, no sketches, no preconceived ideas.  Things have changed now because I don't go so blindly into the abstracts as before. I still love them, I just go about them kind of differently.  When I first starting doing these I saw things happen on the surfaced that brought up ideas, so I experimented.  An experiment is a per-conceived idea so I guess I can say I am not so free anymore.  I have a goal or a purpose but it's still kind of random and I am still experimenting.  It's hard to explain, but do you kind of know what I'm say'in?

Anyways, I am at a point now that I want to share these abstracts publicly.  I want to see where these can take me.  See what the future holds.  Let me know what you think.  I need the feedback!  I'll be posting different abstracts for the next couple of months or more.  - Don't worry, I'll post other things too.

The one above it titled Fault Line, it is only 5x7 inches.  I loved the way the white shows through creating a sense of two different land masses.  The colors are my favorites too.  I love earth tones with a plash of color thrown in, like the red.  This painting has three layers of paint on it.  The middle layer gets most of the work.  I don't think I have ever completed an abstract in a single sitting.  I don't think abstracts should be about randomly throwing colors down and calling it art.  An abstract is a work of art and should be cared for and caressed like any other painting you produce.  Put a little love into it and it will show.

Don't forget to let me know what you think about abstract art, my painting or what ever!

Cheers,

Larry

Day 21, Exploration

Exploration  6x6 Oil on Canvas

Another exploration into the abstract world.  There are things and places in this world that fascinate me and I know I will never get to see them first hand.  Some people may say I should add them to my bucket list.  But my bucket is full.  This is fine because I can always visit these places in my paintings.

Part of my bucket list: Hike to Everest base camp - and paint along the way, Spend a couple of weeks in Alaska just painting, Whale watching from a small boat, Travel to space, Walk Pacific Crest Trail and paint along the way, Paint in Ice Land, Paint in Scotland, Paint in Netherlands, Fish from an offshore oil rig- and probably take some reference shots for paintings, Turkey hunt, and Read the entire Bible, to name a few.

Completed January 21st

Larry

Day17, The Fishers of Men

The Fishers of Men   6x6 Oil on Panel

An abstract Sunday.  This abstract has something in it I see.  What do you see?

I'll edit my post later tonight with the the title I want it to have and I wonder if you will begin to see what I see.  Or - maybe we already see the same thing?  Turns out most people did pick up on the boat image.  After looking at it now I see I over did it.   A lot of people also saw a city or tall buildings in the background.

When I was painting it, I was thinking coastal colors and fog.  It was too pail looking so I added the brown, which to me indicated a boat.  A keel and net was indicted and I was almost done.  The red and yellow to the left some thought was a space man or alien type of figure.  This represents the divine light of Jesus as he is calling John and his brother to him.  He tells them you will no longer fish for food but you will be fishers of men to teach the Word to.

Some people, teachers, gallery owners and critics think an artwork's title is just as important as the artwork itself. I don't necessarily think so.  I can just as easily enjoy a painting entitled "painting 4" as I can one with a lavish title.  I was once at a gallery opening for a pretty well recognized abstract artist.  This artist was leading a group of us around and giving us an explanation of his work.  Afterwords, we were all free to wander, drink our wine, eat our crackers and enjoy the art.  I looked at every painting and thought "Blobs of paint.  All it is is blobs of paint."  As I was analyzing one of the paintings the artist came into the room with me.  He knew I was an artist by how closely I was analyzing his work.  (This is common with Gallery owners too.)
He asked "So, what do you see?"
I answered "Honestly?"
"Yes."
"Blobs of paint is all I see, and I don't particularly like the colors."
He said"  No, no no.  let me show you."
And he proceeded to tell me how he went about painting it, what he thought about, and all the other whats, whens and whys he painted this painting.  It was a true learning experience for me and I think about this conversation every time I paint an abstract.  When he was done explaining he asked again what I thought.
I said, "It's all good if you are hear to explain, it really makes a wonderful story.  But if you do not personally fallow this painting around to explain it to everyone, every time, then it would simply be a blob of paint."  I then asked, "What do you think all the other people in the gallery are thinking about your other painting right now?"
He called me a "little shit" and ran out of the room.

It's not the title that makes a painting, it the painting that makes the painting.  A title can actually change the way someone sees the painting so an artist really needs to be careful and purposeful in their decisions.  As far as abstracts go, there are great abstract artists out there and there are ones who make blobs of paint.  The blobs of paint generally look good over the couch.  To each their own.  This little attempt shows I can try to lead you with the slight details toward what I want you to see.  It doesn't guarantee success though.  This is how I want to work my abstracts because I love to tell a story.  But...the point of an abstract is to be abstract, void of any representation crap.  So in this sense I guess my abstracts will fail.  What do you think?

Have a great Sunday.

Completed January 17th.

Larry

Day15. Half way there

Half Way There  6x6 Oil on Panel

I am half way complete with the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  Whoo-Hooo!

I wasn't actually thinking about this title when I was working on this painting but it sure does fit. I was still in a somber mood after yesterdays painting. Thank you all for the comments, both on the blog and on Facebook. Y'all really lifted me up. When I started painting today I said a quick prayer and asked for some guidance. In the beginning I really struggled. It started as an abstract, lead to another abstract, then a third and finally I started to see the potential.

As I was painting I was rambling in my head, (a good kind of ramble, I can control it, I promise) what it must have been like for Jesus to be tortured as he was and still know he had to walk out to be hung on the cross. He knew the journey he must take and he still took it. He took this journey for us. This was a very humbling thing to think about and I am grateful for the thoughts. The final touch to the painting was the cross.

We have a good life, hope you all agree.

Completed January 15th

Larry

Day11, Getting Monday started with Expression.

The Vessel  6x6 oil on Panel

Third abstract in eleven days.  This painting I saw right when I made the first two strokes.  The very thin straight lines up top and to the left are something new I discovered.  The lines are made by scraping the smallest amount of paint possible with a razor blade then applying it with a slashing motion.  The middle yellow/ orange and small silhouette near bottom right are very purposeful.

What do y'all see in this in this one?

Completed January 11th.

Larry

Day 9 Three Squares

Three Squares  6x6 Oil on Panel

Day 9 is here and I have new art.  Another abstract to tease your mind.  What do you see in this?

One of these days I'm going to go big with an abstract.  I have only adventured into the 6 x 12 inch realm.  This is mainly because I am just experimenting with paint application, application tools and texture.  I am finding I prefer the less colorful ones and I really like white textural back grounds with the paint skimmed on top.  The hardest part of these little gems is when to stop.  One side of my brain wants to keep going to find the image or to see what will happen if I do this or that.  With just one last application of an "if"  I see the painting go to hell, I try to fix it, I hate it and then I trash it.  The more paint I apply the worse it gets and the more money I burn.  It is a real mind tease to me too, but for different reasons than yours.

What do I see?  I see the two beautiful white rectangles, one with the red square the other with an ivory square.  I'm loving the vertical scrapes through them and how the purple plays a role to the right.  The green shapes are nice but I dislike the reddish brown to the left of it near the edge.  Bad color combination.  In short, I see the color and texture.

Completed January 9th.

Larry

Day 4. An Abstract

Raiders  6x6 Oil on panel

Abstraction.  It looks easy to do.
This is the most common art that people look at and say "I can do that!"  Well, so can I.  The difference is that I did do it.

For me the key components to abstract art is:
One, it's has to be immediately visually compelling.
Two, the colors have to work together and be beautiful.
Three, it has to have little things.  Little placements of meaningful colors. Things the artist added that makes the piece purposeful.
Four, I need to look at it and say, "I could never reproduce that if I tried."

Without the above it's just smeared paint.

Completed January 4th.

Larry