My little art group tried out a new technique for abstract painting. It’s based on using words that are opposites.
You keep adding different elements according to the words and their opposites, such as hard and soft or straight and jagged. Then you can add further elements such as collage and work with pens or pencils.
Here they are after adding some collage elements. The one on the bottom right was done separately and I covered the page with a wash of watercolor first. It’s the only one I have worked on with a black marker. I am definitely not very comfortable with the process but these are to loosen you up and not create a “masterpiece”. I can say I definitely created no masterpieces.
And now I’d like you to meet my new fur baby, Edgar. We adopted him from a shelter. He’s supposed to be a year old but I would guess 3-4 months younger. He’s supposed to be a Corgi mix and weighs 25 pounds. Compared to our Yorkies, he’s a bruiser. Here he is with a stuffed tractor which he tore to shreds in about 10 minutes. I then got him an “indestructible” toy that lasted half an hour. Fierce puppy.
Edgar at the studio door looking at me and saying “When are you going to come and play with me?” We’ve had him for a week and he’s settling in well.
I am going to be doing less blog posts on this blog for a while. I’m taking a partial blogging sabbatical. I will still be blogging once a week over on The Felting and Fiber Studio blog. I’ll pop in here occasionally perhaps to give you Edgar updates.
I hope you are all staying safe and thanks for reading.
Ruth Lane Art 
Edgar is gorgeous! We’d love a cuddle! You’re going to have a problem with toys – we had rotties that could eat anything.
Three toys did survive though – one was a double triangle tug toy that survived tug-of-war sessions between our bull mastiff and rotties. Can you imagine the pull exerted on that!
All three surviving toys were made by ‘Kong’ – here’s a link that might help?
https://poochsy.com/blogs/news/top-50-best-indestructible-dog-toys-ever-made
Annie finds art exercises – as you describe above – very helpful for loosening up and getting creative.
Thanks Lyn, this is the first dog I’ve had that destroyed toys so easily. Thanks so much for the link. We have a nylabone that hes hasn’t been able to destroy. And we do have a Kong but I thought it was just for stuffing and I think now, I’ll just let him play with it.
And yes, the art exercises are useful even if the results aren’t extraordinary.
Edgar is adorable! Having a staffy/boxer who will chew through anything and everything, I would also recommend Kong. Did you feel loosened up after the art exercise? Personally I’ve always felt more tense when I’ve done anything like this…..probably says something about me I shouldn’t be revealing!!
Thanks Karen, Edgar has a Kong now and that’s helping.
Actually, I didn’t feel loosened up much either. It just brought out my inner critic and that never loosens me up. Abstract art has always been hard for me.
Edgar is soo cute. Although our cockerpoo sounds to be a little more gentle, I have bought him tough, but flexible, plastic toys which he adores playing ‘tug’ with….soft so called ‘indestructible’ toys have never lasted. I’ve Found being slightly flexible Plastic is better for his teeth.
I have to admit to liking your abstract work Ruth. So between the 4 of us we have a 50/50 split….interesting. Years ago I used to add an extra element….after completing one task, the paper/artwork was passed to your neighbour, continuing until it returned to it’s originator – with fascinating results, especially if just done in black (thick, medium or thin) on white paper.
From what I have seen over the years you tend to be more representational with your artwork, unlike many of my pieces and what I’ve seen from Annie. Another whole discussion!!!
Enjoy your sabbatical.
Thanks Antje, yes, the rubbery plastic seems to work the best. I’m sure as he gets through the puppy stage, he will calm down a bit.
Glad you like the abstracts. They are OK. We considered passing them around but didn’t do it. Probably because we have been doing exactly that with a set of 5 notebooks for the last 18 months .I will be telling more about this project soon. It has resulted in some interesting art.
I will look forward to seeing the notebooks in due course.