(«Abstract #123», acrylic on canvas – image property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia, All Rights Reserved)
* But you can easily skip them or break them…
However…
There is a rule that must not be broken…Rule #1…and that is that every brushstroke should be applied to the canvas with thought and with a specific purpose in mind. There should be no randomness in the manner in which paint is applied. Yes, at first, random brushstrokes are admitted…and even encouraged…but when you are finally shaping the structure of the composition, each brushstroke should be carefully thought out and purposely applied. This rule should not be broken because if you do, you will not be putting the thoughts into the composition that it requires. After all, I am assuming that you did put thought, intention, message and emotion into your composition in the first place…
And…
This rule…as all other rules…applies to figurative as well as to abstract art. I have often said that abstract art is the most difficult art to do…to do right…because the reference is internal, therefore it is very important that Rule #1 be followed diligently. Now, if you consider the example I have placed above, you might think that there is a lot of random dripping of paint…unmixed paint right out of the tube…and that little thought was given to where it would end up on the canvas. But you would be wrong. Like I said, the reference…for me, as the one who painted it…is internal, so it can change according to how I «see» this reference within my head. Yet the reproduction of it on the canvas remains faithful to the reference. And please do not confuse this with what the observer may, or may not, see when looking at the painting.
I chose not to give this painting a word title and instead I chose the number 1,2,3, as they, in their union, as a number, 123, stand in place of a philosophical concept, which I will not go into here, but it is meaningful to me. Nothing is random, nothing is intuitive, as intuition does not lead to a finished work of art.
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One of my paintings titled «Amanecer en Cuenca», digitally remastered image property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia, All Rights Reserved)
Abstract art is a concept in art as is Figurative art. However, an abstract painting that has nothing to do with reality and is one that does not necessarily remind us of anything that exists in «reality». Not even in surrealism, where there are things not seen in reality but when painted they are identifiable, thus it is not abstract art.
However, there are many paintings that purposely mix an abstract background with a figurative element. Those paintings are not abstract. They may be symbolic, surrealistic, expressionistic, but once they incorporate an element that is easily recognisable, although disfigured, the painting is figurative. Here is an example:
(My painting «Sugar Sugar 1», image property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia, All Rights Reserved)
Abstract art cannot take us, visually, to any place real or recognisable as things relative to daily life. Abstract art is like the many abstracts all around us, like music, especially classical music and jazz. Abstract art has to do with the pure essence of «things» like colours, lines and geometric figures. Finally abstract art revolves around the many abstract concepts that surround us, like love, truth, energy et al…
(My oil on canvas painting «Inner Waves», image property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia, All Rights Reserved)
Abstract art has much to do with sounds, with silence, with emotions, with feelings and with the meanings that colours have for us. For example, the colour green evokes many thoughts and emotions, as do all colours. Geometric figures as well. These forms and figures, as well as colours, impress upon our psyche and leads us to memories…
However, one important item to consider and to remember is that abstract art is not created randomly or intuitively. To paint an abstract work the artist faces the same problems as if he were painting a figurative work. The challenges are: colour, forms, composition, style, size and most importantly, the message, the language of that this piece will speak to the observer. Simply dripping paint, splashing paint or spreading it with brush strokes upon a canvas does not create abstract art.
Abstract art must…and all good ones do…have a reference. The difficulty, for the artist, is that the reference is internal. For example, landscape painters use an external, and clearly identifiable reference, as do portrait artists. However, abstract artists must define their reference from within their mind, their thoughts, their imagination. That reference must remain clear and evident throughout the process of creating the painting. The rules of art are there to guide and to allow for greater creativity and must be observed.
Now we’ve many forms of abstract art. Most were developed at the beginning of the XX C. and some later on, like «abstract expressionism», you know the drippings that Jackson Pollock brought to the limelight. Some of the most famous abstract artists are Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, Fernando Zóbel, José Guerrero and others you might want to look up and research.
For me, abstract art is a challenge, as is figurative. Since I began my professional career in art I have focused primarily on figurative art. Yet, I have always had an interest in the abstract, maybe because of my love of classical music and Jazz (American Classical Music), so I have always tried to incorporate abstractions into my figurative work. It wasn’t until 2017 that I resolved to exhibit a pure abstract work and I did and it made it to the MoMa in New York City. Here is the painting that was exhibited as part of a video exhibition of abstract art back in 2018.
(My work «Campo Estela», image property of FBC, Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia, All Rights Reserved)
Well, I know that many of you are artists, and many more art collectors and just lovers of art, so I ask, what is abstract art to you? What do you see, what do you experience when standing before a purely abstract work (now that you know the definition)? Please let me know.
¿Será bueno que los artistas se hagan pasar por filósofos?
¿Valdrá la pena componer unos versos o una breve explicación o definición del arte?
¿A quien le importa lo que piensa el artista? Si total, el artista os va a decir que lo que realmente importa es lo que veis sobre el lienzo o el papel.
Y si el mundo es un huevo, ¿de que ave será?
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Is it good that artists assume the role of philosophers?
Is it worth it to compose a few verses or a short narrative to explain what art is?
Who really cares what the artist thinks? After all the artist is only going to tell you that what is important is what is on the canvas or paper.
And if the world is an egg, what bird laid it?
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Obra en acrílico sobre tela ovalada de 35x45cm
Painted with acrylic on oval canvas, 35x45cm
(Propiedad de Francisco Bravo Cabrera, Omnia Caelum Studios València, Derechos Reservados/Property of Francisco Bravo Cabrera, Omnia Caelum Studios València, All Rights Reserved)
JaZzArt en València 