Methods like Synesthetic art
Niall
After reading "That Guy again" thread on synesthetic art
I was absolutely fascinated
I was wondering is there other methods like this
I am basically a beginner and am always
drawn to abstract & imaginative work
but find it hard to unleash my creativity
I am really interested in the spiritual/mind side
of creating abstracts and would love my
work to reflect my mood & personality,
but I find myself painting shapes and stuff
that I see around me and in magazines
When I try to just "spill my thoughts"
on a canvas its usually an ugly mess
I have no training and am poor at composition
Any links or thoughts...Give it up? Go to school?
Cheers
Niall
Nik Maack
Dan Fox wrote:
> Go to school. You'll find that learning the fundamentals of drawing and
> painting, such as composition and color theory, will serve as a basis for
> doing good abstract work. Good luck!
Alternatively, DON'T go to school. Learn art on your own. Study the
abstract art that you like, and figure out what you like about it. Copy
it. Play with it. Rework it. Take THAT voice and use it to find YOUR voice.
Almost all local libraries are rife with big picture books of art.
Start there. I've found many sources of inspiration in libraries --
from art books to children's illustration to photography to scientific
drawings of insects.
Another good method for creating abstract art -- create a rule of some
kind, in your head, and force yourself to stay within its boundaries.
Something like "straight lines only, red and black and blue." Or give
yourself a theme to work on and stick with it. Paint abstract and think
"ice" or "anger" or even "lemons". Some consistent note, in this
fashion, will give your work more MEANING, less mess.
And don't be afraid to draw or paint OVER what you've already done. Or
to throw it away and start over. Or to bring in weird collage
materials. Or do whatever strikes you as RIGHT.
My advice: explore on your own. Occasionally come up for air, look
around you, study the works of others -- then dive back into your own
point of view.
Being merely educated and competent is never a substitute for being a
passionate fool.
My approach differs from Dan's, as I see good art as more about personal
play than serious work.
Bernt Oker
>Being merely educated and competent is never a substitute for being a
>passionate fool.
>
>My approach differs from Dan's, as I see good art as more about personal
>play than serious work.
I'm 'passionate' about my art to the point
of having earned two university degrees
while 'studying' it. But I never have referred
to myself as anything more than a 'hobby' artist.
Being able to keep it at the 'hobby' level
has allowed me to enjoy what I do without the
angst of having to produce in order to eat.
If I had my life to live front to back, instead
of back to front as I've lived mine, I'd still
do it the same way...I think...
Red Jack
"Methods like Surgical art" by Red Jack
=>Alternatively, DON'T go to school. Learn surgery on your own.
Study the
=>type of surgery that you like, and figure out what you like about
it. Copy
=>it. Play with it. Rework it. Take THAT voice and use it to find
YOUR voice.
=>
=>Almost all local libraries are rife with big picture books on
surgery.
=>Start there. I've found many sources of inspiration in libraries --
=>from medical books to children's illustration to photography to
scientific
=>dissection of insects.
=>
=>Another good method for practicing surgery -- create a rule of some
=>kind, in your head, and force yourself to stay within its
boundaries.
=>Something like "straight lines only, red and black and blue." Or
give
=>yourself a theme to work on and stick with it. Operate and think
=>"ice" or "anger" or even "lemons". Some consistent note, in this
=>fashion, will give your work more meaning, less MESS.
=>
=>And don't be afraid to operate OVER what you've already done. Or
=>to throw it away and start over. Or to bring in weird colon
=>materials. Or do whatever strikes you as RIGHT.
=>
=>My advice: explore on your own. Occasionally come up for air, look
=>around you, study the works of others -- then dive back into your
own
=>point of view.
=>
=>Being merely educated and competent is never a substitute for being
a
=>passionate fool.
=>
=>My approach differs from Dan's, as I see good surgery as more about
personal
=>play than serious work.
=>
=> Jack
This was a spoof of an earlier post by Nik Maack. Nik is the kind of
guy who knows how to take a joke. I hope. <g>
Sorry Nik, I couldn't help myself. Your remark about being "merely"
educated made me smile.
Peace!
C'ya,
John
Andrew D
[snip]
+This was a spoof of an earlier post by Nik Maack. Nik is the kind of
+guy who knows how to take a joke. I hope. <g>
+
+Sorry Nik, I couldn't help myself. Your remark about being "merely"
+educated made me smile.
The difference between art education and other education is that art
education often results in real-world failures.
"Sophisticated" ex-students revel in their own education and use it alone
as proof of their absolute knowledge about the world of art. Community
opinion is dismissed as a lack of knowledge yet this doesn't apply
elsewhere.
I don't know much about carpentry, but I know that if my roof falls down,
the carpenter wasn't very good. I don't know much about aerodynamics but
I'd be suspicious of someone building planes that don't fly.
When the only people supporting modern art are those directly involved in
either producing, "teaching" or marketing it, I have my suspicions that
their supposed education is worth much at all.
Dan once remarked that ignoring "modern" art in art education is like
teaching economics without reference to the Great Depression. I agree.
Where I disagree is with the apparent belief that economics students
should be taught that the Great Depression was a high point worthy of
repeating as often as possible.
Andy D.
"I'm a great speller - but a hopless tpyist!"
That Guy Again
> Hi all
>
> After reading "That Guy again" thread on synesthetic art
> I was absolutely fascinated
Caution here... some have it, some don't.
>
> I was wondering is there other methods like this
Of course! In the early '80s, I once clipped out some news article
about a guy who painted while under hypnosis.
>
> I am basically a beginner and am always
> drawn to abstract & imaginative work
> but find it hard to unleash my creativity
That used to happen to me a lot, until I started experimenting with
different styles: 1) images from dreams, 2) childhood images,
stylized, 3) stylized landscapes, 4) synesthetic imagery.
>
> I am really interested in the spiritual/mind side
> of creating abstracts and would love my
> work to reflect my mood & personality,
I'm way out of my league here... sounds to me like New-Age phenomena.
I guess compared to other artists I've met, I'm an unfeeling workhorse
who makes his own luck rather than beg the spirits for it.
> but I find myself painting shapes and stuff
> that I see around me and in magazines
Get yourself a sketchbook & a couple of pencils, and carry them around
with you like a diary. Draw in it when an idea comes to you---your
coffee break or lunchtime at work, after dinner, etc. I did exactly
this, and I can flip back through my book & pick out all the crude
sketches which I eventually blew up & painted. It's smudged and
raggedy, but I wouldn't part with my sketchbook for a crate of gold.
>
> When I try to just "spill my thoughts"
> on a canvas its usually an ugly mess
LOL---see "sketchbook", above... you'll save money in the bargain.
>
> I have no training and am poor at composition
What, you mean you don't think you can "read about it, then try it"? I
did... and learned how to handle the business side of art as well
(believe me, you grow up quick & mean after a few months in the Los
Angeles art world). So I'll probably have no use for an agent, who
would do things I could probably do just as well myself.
>
> Any links or thoughts...Give it up? Go to school?
Consider first: the finest school in the world isn't going to be able
to give you talent... give you focus, maybe. But it would be a waste
of your time & money to enroll in a school if you thought that just
being there & taking courses would somehow confer talent upon you as
if by magic. School can't give it if you don't have it! IMO schooling
can be a great help to you if your organizational abilities are pretty
sloppy, but don't convince yourself that it's a magical treasure chest
of new ideas.
As for giving it up, only you can make that decision... but know that
a lot of kids in L.A.'s ghettos and barrios would probably end up
killed or in jail if THEY gave up (and I'd still be living like a
Grapes of Wrath person).
Buy yourself a copy of Ralph Mayer's "the Artist's Handbook" and a
copy of Molly Barnes' "How to Get Hung". Some of the stuff in them is
a little obsolete, but they're basically the only 2 art books which
are my "bibles". When you hit it big, add Bernard Kamoroff's "How to
Be a Small-time Operator" to your collection---it will help you nail
down the business side of your art. Good luck. ;-)
Guy