Skill Builders
EXERCISE 3
Take a painting
that isn’t going
anywhere, wipe
it off and then let
the ghosted image
inspire you to be
free and bold with
your mark-making
and color choices.Morning Sunburst
(15x17) was a chance for
me to explore free-form
marks and gestures on
an old painting surface.EXERCISE 2
Use one of your landscape or still life
paintings as a model for an abstract
“cousin.” Re-create the same scene
using nonlocal colors. Try placing a
bright pastel stroke next to a gray one;
it will provide new information and an
unexpected burst of interest.This is one of my first-
ever exercises in trying
to transition from a
representational to an
abstract painting style.
On a scrap of paper
(which signals to the
mind that it’s a no-risk
effort), I made the same
simple landscape four
times using nonlocal
colors. The unexpected
colors give each scene
an entirely new feel,
pushing them into a
new realm.18 Pastel Journal APRIL 2020