Content

• Steps
• Advice

Have you ever looked at an abstract picture and heard someone say "I can do that too!"? Abstract painting is easy to draw but it is actually more challenging than traditional or classical painting. Because the abstract art challenges all rules and practices. The work depends on the artist himself breaking the rules, expressing and deciding what art is. First, prepare a few things needed to draw. Then decide if you prefer to draw abstract work consisting of random geometric arrays (in the Paul Yanko or Thornton Willis style), or the minimalistic painting featuring bold shapes (like Piet Mondrian's style and Paul Klee), or do you want to focus more on the creation of the piece (like Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko).

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Prepare to draw

1. 

   
   
   Buy canvas fabric. You can purchase ready-made fabrics of all sizes at craft stores. These fabrics are usually prepared for immediate use, but there are no rules that require you to use canvas with stretched and primed. In fact, abstract artists often use canvas without stretching and no primer.
   • If you like colored backgrounds, buy a jar of Gesso to primer and let the canvas have color. Primers usually dry very quickly.

2. 

   
   
   Choose a paint color. Decide if you're going to use acrylics or oil colors. Acrylics are odorless and dry quickly, so they are easy to use and can override faulty lines. The reverse oil color is rarely used because of its odor, it dries long and cannot be overwritten when it is drawn incorrectly.

3. 

   Select brushes and other tools. Choose any brush you like that can be used with the color you just chose. You may need to add a color mixer, to give the picture a bit of texture. While artists use easels, many abstract artists lay canvas on the floor so they can work closer to the work.
   • If you are unsure of a good color scheme, try the color scheme / color wheel. This tool will show you which colors work together.

4. 

   
   
   Change clothes. Depending on what kind of chaos you expect your work to cause, wear an old shirt or a drawing apron. What kind of clothes should you wear that you don't have to worry about but can be more focused on the abstract painting process.
   • You may want to spread out some newspaper to prevent the paint from flowing or spilling, especially if you plan to splash colors or spread the canvas on the floor.
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Method 2 of 5: Learn color theory

1. 

   Color wheel. Basically, a color wheel is a circular instrument that comes in many colors. This tool is effective in showing the correlation between colors - which color is beautiful, which color conflict, etc.
   • You can buy color wheels from local art stores, craft shops, or paint shops.

2. 

   Understand primary color, secondary color, secondary color. Basically the color wheel is divided into 3 parts: primary colors (red, blue, yellow). The secondary color is a sphere created by mixing 3 primary colors (green, orange, purple). Tertiary colors can be created by mixing the primary and secondary colors (yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green).
   • To get used to mixing colors, try making your own color wheel.

3. 

   
   
   Learn about hot, cold colors. Hot colors, like red, yellow, or orange tend to create movement and expand space. Cool colors such as blue, green, and purple give the picture depth and lack of movement. They are calm colors.
   • White, black, gray are considered neutral colors.
4. Work with dithering. There are many recipes for choosing a color that can be mixed together. Particular:
   • Similar color schemes: Select two or three adjacent colors on the color wheel. There will be a color as the main color in the picture, but in general all 3 colors combined together will be beautiful.

     

     
     
   • Complementary color schemes: Select two colors that are located opposite on the color wheel. These colors will stand out together.

     

   • Triangular color scheme: Choose 3 colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. If you connect those 3 color points, you will have a triangle. These colors are also very prominent together.

     

     
     
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Method 3 of 5: Draw random geometric shapes

1. 

   Create background texture. One of the easiest ways is to apply a quality Gesso onto the canvas, which is a glue-like thick primer. Apply Gesso to fabric as paint color, or use trowel if paint is thick enough. This step helps you control the texture according to the style you want to target.
   • You can also leave the canvas as smooth and blank as before. Again, there is no rule that requires you to color the foreground. Many artists keep drawing straight on the canvas.

2. 

   Stick the tape at intersections on the artboard. Use artist-type tape and stick it into multiple lines, creating geometric shapes like triangles, squares, and rectangles. The goal is to create images that don't have to be realistic. The tape will give your shapes a clear line and shape.
   • Use a ruler and pencil instead of tape. If you don't want the streaks left on by the tape after removing it, you can use a ruler and pencil. Put down your ruler and draw random geometric shapes.

3. 

   Tinting. Select the paint color you want to use for the work. Blend them on the palette. You can also mix colors straight on the canvas, but this also makes it difficult to control the finished product.

4. 

   Draw on the divided space with tape. Don't worry if the bowl gets stuck on the tape. Also, don't force yourself to fill the canvas or shapes.
   • On the abstract artist will stroke the blocks before painting. Some other artists just like to color and paint without borders.

5. 

   Remove the tape. After finishing the drawing, remove the tape. If you like clean lines and corners, remove the tape while the color is still wet. If you remove the tape when the color dries, there is a high chance that the paint will be dragged along, causing the corners to chuck.

6. 

   Depending on your preference, fill in the white spaces after removing the glue. After removing the tape, there will be some white space left behind because it was covered by the tape during the drawing. You can leave them as is or fill those lines. advertisement

Method 4 of 5: Draw minimalistic geometric abstract painting

1. 

   Create background texture. One of the easiest ways is to apply a quality Gesso onto the canvas, which is a glue-like thick primer. Apply Gesso to fabric as paint color, or use trowel if paint is thick enough. This step helps you control the texture according to the style you want to target.
   • You can also use thick paper or poster paper. If you choose this option, no surface primer is required.

2. 

   Use a ruler and pencil to draw lines. You can draw many irregularly spaced horizontal lines, as well as vertical lines. Draw as many lines as you like, but remember that fewer lines will make the cube arrays larger.

3. 

   Draw contours. Use black for bold outlines. You can draw bold strokes and light strokes. Your painting now looks like a grid with black borders.

4. 

   Just color a few shapes. Use primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and fill some shapes with paint colors. You can fill every block, but that will confuse the picture. Instead select a few arrays to fill, they will stand out more.

5. 

   Cjwfa some white space. White spaces will make your colors stand out more. advertisement

Method 5 of 5: Gestural style abstract painting

1. 

   Move the canvas to the floor. Many abstract artists do this to bring the work closer. In addition, when you draw gestural drawings, or actions, or abstract paintings, placing the canvas on the floor will be easy to color in many ways.
   • Don't think you can't move the canvas while you're drawing. In fact, you can create a unique design by placing the canvas on the floor and then pulling the canvas upside down while the paint is still wet to create a flowing effect.

2. 

   Don't hesitate. With the gestural abstract style, you are not trying to present a clear image. Instead focus on the drawing process. Try many brush strokes you like.

3. 

   Mix colors directly onto the canvas. Because this style focuses on the drawing process, you do not need to worry about using the palette, instead, mix directly on the canvas when drawing.

4. 

   As you like, you can fill the canvas with color. Coloring on canvas is one way to make painting unique and unpredictable. Please pour as many colors as you want.
   • Note the distance from where you pour the paint. Pouring paint from above creates a splashing effect, while close pouring appears more controlled and precise.

5. 

   Scatter or small color paint onto the canvas, it's up to you. Use whatever you like and dab and paint the picture. Then flick to create a splash effect or keep the tool on the picture to allow the color to flow.
   • You can use a brush, straw, plastic bottle, or an old toothbrush to swing or drip color over the picture.

6. 

   Try to close your eyes and draw. One thing that most abstract artists agree is that abstract paintings should not depict reality. One of the best ways to keep yourself from drawing a specific shape is to close your eyes and draw.
   • Allows brushes and colors to be brushed over the canvas without worrying about the image you just created. This drawing is more about experience than the product.

7. 

   Stop when you feel the work is finished. Don't go back to develop or edit. Abstract artists don't think much about the finished product, they only stop when they feel the painting is ready. Don't add to your picture, but learn to feel done when you feel finished. advertisement

Advice

• Start drawing by thinking about an object, or scene. Do not think about any particular picture, but only immerse in thinking about the form of the object. Your imagination and feeling will create the picture on the canvas. Remember, you are interpreting it, not drawing it.
• Study the principles of your composition and see if you can draw abstract paintings based on ideas of one of the principles instead of relying on specific objects. This way of doing good abstract works sometimes! You will be happy with the finished product.
• Abstract painting is based on the idea that works need not be exactly like reality so don't expect anything. Just step in and experience the abstract drawing process!
• You don't need to draw real things, you can draw anything!
• Abstract painting is fun and something anyone can do.
• Just draw and stop when the picture is good enough for you. Sometimes if you keep drawing, you'll wish you had stopped earlier.
• Draw with your opposite hand to create interesting accents.