Ways of Seeing: Abstract Art with Maryanne Khan
Before a painting is anything else—a landscape, a nude, a still life, a portrait—it's a bunch of colours, assembled in a certain way, on a flat surface. Simple as that.
Anything on a two-dimensional surface actually isn't a lemon or a naked muse, it's a representation of one. Your job as a painter is to 're-present' something, but how you do that depends on how you are looking. Abstract artists look at stuff differently.
In this class, you'll discover a new way to see--to pull away from literal, objective references—because abstract art is essentially non-representational art. It's a deconstruction, a reassembling, a unique way of seeing. We'll also explore the ideas of the Greats of early abstraction–and why they are great—and the wonderful creative possibilities that are now open to you because of what they achieved in blowing the painter's working space right open.
Like a bricklayer or a carpenter, an abstract painter needs a toolbox to suit the job. You'll discover what different paints and mediums can and can't do and which tools will help you achieve what you're aiming for on that flat surface. Unlike a bricklayer's, however, your working space is made up not only of the tools you use, but also of the way you see, how you feel about what you see, and what you decide to put on your surface.
A challenging task to take on? You bet. But the bonus is that in our Abstract Artist's Workplace, you'll have a lot of fun doing it!
Maryanne Khan, among other things, has been involved in art gallery management, museum education, in teaching assorted subjects and is a successful-enough writer. She is now a happy forest-dweller, painting.
Before a painting is anything else—a landscape, a nude, a still life, a portrait—it's a bunch of colours, assembled in a certain way, on a flat surface. Simple as that.
Anything on a two-dimensional surface actually isn't a lemon or a naked muse, it's a representation of one. Your job as a painter is to 're-present' something, but how you do that depends on how you are looking. Abstract artists look at stuff differently.
In this class, you'll discover a new way to see--to pull away from literal, objective references—because abstract art is essentially non-representational art. It's a deconstruction, a reassembling, a unique way of seeing. We'll also explore the ideas of the Greats of early abstraction–and why they are great—and the wonderful creative possibilities that are now open to you because of what they achieved in blowing the painter's working space right open.
Like a bricklayer or a carpenter, an abstract painter needs a toolbox to suit the job. You'll discover what different paints and mediums can and can't do and which tools will help you achieve what you're aiming for on that flat surface. Unlike a bricklayer's, however, your working space is made up not only of the tools you use, but also of the way you see, how you feel about what you see, and what you decide to put on your surface.
A challenging task to take on? You bet. But the bonus is that in our Abstract Artist's Workplace, you'll have a lot of fun doing it!
Maryanne Khan, among other things, has been involved in art gallery management, museum education, in teaching assorted subjects and is a successful-enough writer. She is now a happy forest-dweller, painting.