IN DEPTH
1
ESTABLISH AN ETHOS
When making abstract art, the
most important thing to remember
is that you can’t go “wrong”.
My students are often concerned
that when they are drawing from the
figure, the whole history of formal life
drawing is weighing upon them and
the right or wrong way to do this can
haunt them. They will often have a
fixed idea about what makes a good
or bad drawing and arrived at a point
where they feel their work has
become too rigid. If this sounds like
you and you also wish to loosen up,it’s important to establish the right
mindset, one that takes the pressure
off having to produce a perfect,
exhibition-ready piece.
In order to do this, I like to give
myself some tenets to work by –
things I can bear in mind during
the creative process, such as
“concentration is essential”, “in
order to draw you have to start from
innocence”, or “if you know what
you’re doing, you aren’t doing it
properly”. You might want to write
your own tenets out and pin them
to your wall while you work.2
REMEMBER TO PLAY
Being playful is the most radical
thing you can do. I find that in order to
successfully start making an abstract
artwork, I have to be open to all the
possibilities and directions in which
the work could take me. In doing so,
I am allowing the process of making
work to govern the outcome, rather
than being overly analytical and
critical of what I am doing.
Give the analytical side of your
brain a rest and try to access the
instinctive, intuitive side. Try to not
over think what the final outcome
might be and attempt to be fully
present when making a painting or
drawing. Enjoy the process as it leads
you from one decision to another. Play
music to help distract from any
over-analytical thinking. Don’t bully
yourself or be hard on yourself, be led
by the work. As Pablo Picasso once
said, “In order to draw, you have to
close your eyes and sing”.3
SCALE THINGS UP
Working large feels like such a
statement to make. Using 10-metre
rolls of paper or canvas pinned to a
wall is a great way to do this – they
can be ordered online from most
good art shops. The physical action
of making a piece that is larger than
yourself will challenge you, but the
rewards are great, as you can start
putting down bold forms with large
household brushes.
I’d keep it simple in the first
instance, so use a limited palette of
one dark colour, one mid tone and
one light colour. Let your intuition
guide you and, above all, be sure to
give something of yourself to the work.4
BEGIN WITH A FIGURE
Start by making warm-up
drawings and initial sketches from a
live model – ask a friend or family
member, perhaps. The idea is to build
up a number of studies that you’ll be
able to use later as resource material.
Stand up to draw if possible, ideally
with half a dozen A1 sheets of paper
clipped to an easel. Use monotone
dry drawing materials such as
charcoal (willow or compressed),
pastel, conté crayon or graphite
pencil. Make a number of quick,
three-minute drawings, ideally three
per sheet of paper. Draw them eitherLEFT Haptic Boaty,
oil on canvas,
190x320cm