11/06/2025
A few words from Anne Nordstrom regarding her artistic process. We will have the full article shared at the gallery if you would like more information:
Abstract Art requires approaching a painting in a totally different way from rendering a photo of real objects.
We need :Technical skills
painting skills
Artistic skills
Expressive skills
Learning to paint from your inner nature is essential.
Creativity,
Expression
Originality
Individuality-Are all necessary qualities.
Abstract art is considered to be more difficult than realism as the artist starts with a blank canvas and no objects landscapes or people to reference and render.
I start with a colour selection., usually 2 complementary ones.- orange and purple. The 2 colours make each other “pop” as they are on opposite sides of the color wheel.
I cover the canvas quickly with a large palette knife holding orange and white . I scrape lines, shapes and squiggles into the wet paint.
I let that dry or work more white into the wet paint and move on to another canvas or board. The next colour combination is blue and yellow combined with white. Acrylic paint is great- dries quickly and is thick and bright.
About 90% of the time colour is the main feature in abstract work. Letting the first colour dry is important as over mixing orange and purple will end in mud! No mud allowed.
I have spent 10,000 hours mixing black or white into primary colours - experimenting and learning how colours affect each other. The Ittens colour chart is a great learning tool as it illustrates cool and warm versions of red, yellow and blue.There are many colour wheels available.
Line, shapes, size, colour, tone and texture are essential painting elements .
