An abstract is an art piece that is attractive in its own right, without representing anything. Though, "What is art?" and "What is abstract?" are themes that can keep artists and art theorists arguing for hours, but we will leave it at none-representational, but possessing aesthetic appeal, as a working guide. There are different ways of creating an abstract, but as I was taught to plan out the work on canvas this is the technique I use. I would note that the final painting looks much nicer on screen because of the screens inherent light properties.

Translucent Blue - full A4 version HERE - painted on hard backed canvas

This is the process I followed

1. So, I want to create an abstract, I want to show a translucent effect, and I just saw an old film with a ship being pulled under by a maelstrom. At this point I have some picture in mind, but it's unclear and I am not sure how to fit it on the canvas. Also, I have an excess of blue paint available. I do not want to paint water, that would not be abstract, but I do want a "whirly" effect at the end. I begin marking out the canvas picking up key focus points.

2. Marking out the canvas in this way may seem a bit pointless, but it helps prevent the painter's equivalent of writer's block. If you have got an image to work from it is not so problematic, but it is often difficult to hold an imaginary picture in your head. Another technique with abstract is to flick paint at the canvas, then use those as a cue to inspire the movement of the brush. However, here I have a good idea of what I want to achieve. Note that I have not gridded out the canvas with my usual golden mean template. It is not needed for this piece, but it would be useful in producing some semi-abstract works.

3. Very thin paint is being applied now. The pencil I used by the ways was soluble, so it tends to blend in well. What I am looking for is a whirly effect to the overall image.

4. This is still at the planning stage. The moment to commit to thicker layers of paint, or abandon, paint over, and try something else in a few days time.

5. The image is now quite clear in mind mind, if not on the canvas. Essentially, the canvas above can be considered the "shadow" of the painting. Now I start applying layers of gradually thicker paint burying the canvas texture, which is much easier to achieve with a board backed canvas.

6. The finished canvas. The paint has been allowed to gel and smooth out. On screen the canvas looks slightly different and much smoother than its canvas counterpart. The canvas, however, shimmers a little when moved.

I hope you enjoyed this posting, and I look forward to reading and replying to your comments.

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