Why Paint Abstract / Non-Objective Art?
We have filmed two purely abstract workshops: John Salminen’s, A Designed Approach to Abstraction and
Virginia Cobb’s, Acrylic Abstract Painting: The Evolving Image. I asked both artists to explain what it was about abstract painting they liked, what held their interest.
John Salminen said abstract paintings grew and changed with the viewer. A subject oriented painting, such as that of a barn, permits the viewer to enjoy the painting on many levels: composition, color, paint quality, nostalgia, fantasy, imagination, etc., but they are all related to the barn. A well painted abstract painting permits the viewer to enjoy the artwork AND continually find new ‘things’ in the painting such as discovering transitions and edge qualities, form for form sake - and even imagery. An abstract painting permits the viewer to bring more to the painting as the viewer matures as a connoisseur of art.
I asked the same question of Virginia Cobb. She told a story of the day she decided to stop painting realistic art and turn her attention to abstract painting. She said she saw a show of beautifully executed watercolors, and she knew then and there that she could add nothing new to the genre. With abstract or non-objective paintings, each painting is a new expression of what is inside her, the artist, and only her. Each is unique by it’s very nature as an expression of the artist on that given day. It is pulled up from the depth of her experience as a human speaking to the human condition in a visual expression, something more akin to music without words.
Working with John and Virginia has brought me renewed interest in the subject… or the lack there of…
~Lynn~