Abstracts

[Bojangles]

I just worked on mine and let me tell you, it eats poop by former standards. I'm not even going to post it yet. I might try and do another by the deadline.

 

If you want to leave out the one line/contour line part, go ahead. Have fun, do an abstract landscape...tree, house, you know the rest.

[King Of Hell]

Dudes. I am balls deep in this landscape shit.

 

timber no homo.

 

I am amped on it.

[enigmatic]

the landscape one is gonna be epic

[enigmatic]

notmine.

 

[serum]

ok ill try and do the abstract landscape but friday is not going to happen

i wake up at 530 am and get home at 8pm

ill try for this weekend.

[lord_casek]

something i did back in '99

hanging in a friends house

since then.

 

 

[imported_splint2]

shut up, im fucking embaressed i even bothered to post that.

i should be slapped.

 

someone give me the rules for this landscape shit.

 

 

Whatever man, I liked it.

 

You can take the compliment or not.

[heavyLox]

yeah take it...bitch. ||

[Harvey Wallbanger]

I didn't realize we weren't going to be sticklers for the rules around here.

 

I'm retracting my previous "pause" entry in favor of a "timber" that I liked much better:

 

[ATTACH]73354.vB[/ATTACH]

[Harvey Wallbanger]

Hayabusa, I really liked your entry without the color.

 

 

Joker's on the other hand... that little bit of green is stupendous.

[HAL]

Okay first, here's something I was playing around with while doing my timber piece:

 

 

...And here's my timber piece:

 

 

I have a friend that writes "Timber" so all I could picture were his pieces, fortunately it came out looking nothing like his style.

 

The timber piece is done in acrylics and a little spray paint.

 

I had to quote these because they're two of the most sickest pieces I've seen in a long fucking time. I don't know where you live, dude, but I'd like to move there so we could paint together.

[Joker]

This thread is awesome...

[heavyLox]

this has received a lot of positive feed back; I feel like its placement within the picture plane makes

this a less interesting piece then it could be if say the if the picture were framed or the work was a

little less Centered.

 

I TRIED TO CROP IT TO SHOW MY THINKING.

 

with the cropped image to me the external shapes created by the lines, quartering the page become

more exciting and visually dynamic. However it also creates slightly suffocating and locked in areas,

that could be alleviated by breaking some of the line work; so not a continuous line and or by varying

the line weight more.

At the top i cropped the image so the edge isn't broken but its close enough to divide the top of the

picture in to two pieces while also creating a greater level of tension between the line and edge.

 

this top space, along with my suggestion of breaking the lines a bit allows for alternative visual

navigation. That is to say it would allow the viewers eyes to move through the image by both

following the lines and by moving in and out of the spaces created by the lines. And with the addition

of well place gaps the eye would be able to move more fluidly through the piece instead of hitting the

line like a wall and having to back up and find an alternate route through the picture.

 

I like the use of transparency where the orange overlaps the blue. that being said everything else sort

of sits on the same plane; the whole picture to me, sits at sea level. The transparency allows some

opportunity to add some depth to the image. The depth of the image will also be affected by varying

the line weight. As well as adding to the space and relative 'air' separating the various intertwined

elements.

The blue is really heavy and draws the eye in like a magnet. Whats nice is the way the line work acts

to tug you away from the blue and sling shots you right back in to the blue...

 

Over all i like the picture, the direction is right the feel is right and the image reads as honest and not

trying to be anything other then what it is. Nice.

 

 

 

**** i might have over cropped.

*****edited into more readable paragraphs

[Fist 666]

This thread is awesome...

 

well said.

[heavyLox]

1.)

2.)

 

 

 

 

I think both of these images fall victim to the same thing, which many many of us are also victimized

by, material seduction. Wood grain, Cracked and weathered surfaces, drips.

 

TO me the first piece you posted is the stronger of the two; but still kinda of weak, or restrained or

something. The material seduction is a trap that stops you from controlling your picture; the natural

material is so strong that you don't want to ruin it my adding to it so you hold back. In these cases,

ether choose materials you hold less dear or fearlessly destroy the piece of wood, in hopes or

emerging on the other side with a 'new' thing you've made. Drag it through the gravel, beat it with a

hammer, or otherwise own the canvas. Treating it as a precious object to start with, will always take

over the piece and you will end up with a piece of wood with something you stamped on top; instead

of a well integrated piece you created. Does that make sense?

 

I like the direction of the black line work. The line weight could vary a bit more. And i think that after

the initial line starts (i read it from the bottom left) the line then turns in to predictable fake script;

not enough variation in interacting the top and bottom of the wood. the black becomes centered and

contrived. the black dots read similarly, as well as the orange drips.

 

It may serve this kind of piece well to work via a process of chaos control and element removal. There

are few people, with in the context of this site, joker and BOBOjingles come pretty close, who can

work via a process of controlled addition. That is their images appear to start from nothing and end

with just enough; their pictures work with a sense of efficiency very controlled use of materials; theres

jsut enough of everything. The rest of us can achieve the same thing via the opposite approach. put

EVERYTHING you have onto/into the canvas. Then create your picture through the process of removing

the bits that don't belong. In many ways this becomes a process of negotiation. building up and areas

while destroying other areas.

 

The Timber piece i like less theres a false tension by the lines approaching the edge but not breaking

it. I dont see a clear reason for the line work to start and stop where it does. and again it reads as a

piece wood and line drawing instead of one piece.

 

*****edited into more readable paragraphs

[the.crooked]

This has most certainly turned into one of the better threads I have seen on 12oz in a while.

[heavyLox]

Nice one Lox!.

 

Here's mine.

I spent a few hours drawing Joker rip-off's and feeling frustrated. I think the reason why I stoped even doing "abstract" stuff was because there was so little of it then in the graf world and what there was I was staring at all day long. It got stale and repetitive. So......int to trash they went.

 

I thought since we were discussing going outside of graffiti for influences, and also the journey of abstracting a previously established form I used my particular graffiti lettering style, and for inspiration I've been all about 1940's and 50's animation lately and have collected a few books on the subject. I some Be-BBop Jazz on the turntable, and spent a few hours just soaking up a few particular artists work, and then reading about them and the people and things that influenced them.

 

I realise this isn't all that "abstract" but I think it would be immature and irresponsible to try to achieve the finish product in an abstraction style the first go around. I thought that since it's an exercise, why not take those first few steps into something that could actually be. By basing it off of my version of a particular established regional style I had a solid foundation to abstract. By not looking at graff as the inspiration I had something else here as gas for my engine.

 

I used Three different sized brushes for different effects like the thin, dotted lines in lots of the backgrounds of the UPA toons. For paint I used latex house paint, all of which were mistints with the exception of the black and red which are pantiers touch bucket latex. Also i used pieces of foam brushes as sponges to get a bit of that sponge brush background look on the early UPA cartoons.

 

I hope you guys like it.I had fun.

 

Normally I am a huge fan of KOH. however this piece to me reads as unilaterally applying what you know (line) to something your less familiar with (absract form).

theres a strange mix of stuff going on in this piece...

• the tattoo influence- the pointillist style of shading
  
• southwestern feel of the yellow- reads like adobe work/glaze to me.
  
• the over all low contrast and grey value
  
• Heavy black border, of inconsistent width.
  
• materials

and yet they all are things that are well with in your comfort zone they combine into a semi

predictable product.

 

Id like to see you work with a SHIT brush (bristles stick all which-a-way, from aggressive use and

poor up keep) and non sharpened pencils. IN many ways this piece suffers from the opposite pitfalls as

Harveys pieces; your over controlling your work. Which is cool and needed for most of what you do,

tattoos and really anal line drawings, that are awesome btw. this piece however seems to have gotten

away from you in the number of competing elements that dont resolve into a harmonious piece or into

enough of a conflict to start a good internal dialog with in the elements themselves.

 

in the end to me your ability to work abstractly is gonna center around your ability to relinquish

control for a bit and allow your pieces to speak back to you in a creative dialog instead of forcing

your will on it. Even your list of materials seems overly controlled; sort of like you pre-decided

those were the things the would allow you to create an abstract work. Control control control. Let

go luke.

[Bojangles]

Heavylox,

 

I see what you mean. Looks good like that.

 

Hal,

 

Thanks buddy...If you're ever in Cleveland, hit me up.

 

Okay, I'm going to post my crappy landscape soon and another ink line drawing.

 

It must be a curse, whoever has picked the challenge so far has hated their piece.

[Bojangles]

Here's a new line drawing:

 

Here's a painting that I did and should just lie about, calling it my landscape but I won't:

 

Here's my landscape:

[heavyLox]

landscape, nice; def the stronger of the three.

[Harvey Wallbanger]

That landscape is awesome.

 

How big?

[King Of Hell]

Normally I am a huge fan of KOH. however this piece to me reads as unilaterally applying what you know (line) to something your less familiar with (absract form).

theres a strange mix of stuff going on in this piece...

• the tattoo influence- the pointillist style of shading
  
• southwestern feel of the yellow- reads like adobe work/glaze to me.
  
• the over all low contrast and grey value
  
• Heavy black border, of inconsistent width.
  
• materials

and yet they all are things that are well with in your comfort zone they combine into a semi

predictable product.

 

Id like to see you work with a SHIT brush (bristles stick all which-a-way, from aggressive use and

poor up keep) and non sharpened pencils. IN many ways this piece suffers from the opposite pitfalls as

Harveys pieces; your over controlling your work. Which is cool and needed for most of what you do,

tattoos and really anal line drawings, that are awesome btw. this piece however seems to have gotten

away from you in the number of competing elements that dont resolve into a harmonious piece or into

enough of a conflict to start a good internal dialog with in the elements themselves.

 

in the end to me your ability to work abstractly is gonna center around your ability to relinquish

control for a bit and allow your pieces to speak back to you in a creative dialog instead of forcing

your will on it. Even your list of materials seems overly controlled; sort of like you pre-decided

those were the things the would allow you to create an abstract work. Control control control. Let

go luke.

 

 

 

Totally agree. I mean...I was doing an exercise and didn't really expect it to come off. Just like anything I'm starting for the first time, or the forst time in a while, I like aspects of it. I'm not 100 percent sure about some of it, and I hate a bunch of it, but it was fun. I did learn a few things and maybe we should revisit some of these first few exercises in a few months when we've had some time really pushing and inspiring each other.

 

I wonder what this stuff would look like then.

Just as in tattooing imediately after I finished this I thought that if I did it again right now there would be like 10 things I'd do differently.

Thanks for the crit.

[seeking]

mine didn't get a critique cause it's pretty much the pinicle of art.

 

seeking fantastic.

[Harvey Wallbanger]

Heavy, thanks for the critique-- it's great to be able to get honest feedback about your work from people who know what they're talking about. I totally agree with what you said about the first piece (except for the part about liking it better than the second)-- I was really unhappy with that one, and wasn't going to post it, but then posted it anyway and immediately regretted it. But I figured fuck it, I accepted the challenge when I read it, for better or for worse.

 

I was treating that board as way too precious, because it was by a wall I painted the other night, and I had dripped some Indian Spice on it. I was having mixed feelings about using the last of my horde, and grabbed the board while I was leaving because I was being a super geek and didn't want to waste any. Then I tried to use a new painting technique (mini squirt botle) that really required the exact opposite kind of canvas-- something huge and messy-- and a looser outline. I agree that the whole thing came out contrived and boring.

 

The second piece came about because the first one was on a piece of wood, and I had made the E in pause a tree, so it started making me think about wood* and "Timber". I still was trying to work with a different medium than normal, so I used woodstain and a brush on an unfinished board-- the line work is actually a much lighter brown than it appears in the picture. I was trying to have uniform line weight throughout, but I underestimated how thin the woodstain was, and the first couple of lines bled out a lot. I at least liked it way better than the prior one, so it was fun.

 

 

 

This thread is awesome.

 

 

 

 

*Obviously, quadruple-no-homo right here.

[enigmatic]

So as of right now i am staring at a blank strip of canvas stapled to my wall... not sure where i want to go with this...

[enigmatic]

i have some brushes. and i have a little (shitty) paint... but i dont know what i want to draw. whatever. i have a pretty good veiw of the boston skyline from my appartment roof... maybe.

[El Mamerro]

Agree with all of heavy's feedback for everyone, except Bojangles', and just on the cropping issue. His piece to me works better with the spacing and cropping he originally had. Cropping it activates the negative space better, but at the expense of the overall strength of the central system of marks. Right now it seems balanced (and I don't mean balanced as in "static" or "settled", it's still very much alive and dynamic), introducing a new size and position would probably require a restructuring of the linework and marks for it to really work.

 

I reeeeeally like that landscape, but something about it bothers me, and it's not that it's bad. It's that it seems to resemble a formula that I've seen in cheap paintings sold at the mall here in PR, with the thick textured swathes of paint and sharp little highlights. I know this sounds horrible, and I don't mean to be a dick... I actually really like those cheap paintings and often wondered what the hell they were doing next to paintings of flower vases and nude people making out. It's like the artist just settled on a way to make paintings that are very visually appealing (with great use of color, composition, and texture) and easy to execute, and just cranks them out. I'll see if I can grab a flick next time I pass by. Personally, I'm more attracted to the flatter color areas of your other paintings cause they play off very well against the sharper details, but they probably don't feel as strong in person because of said flatness. I do like the fact that you're extending the messiness to these big areas of color, I think you're gonna discover a whole bunch of awesome possibilities there.

[Poesia [ ] T]

Im dragging my feet on this one, not too eager to paint something objective when my career has been based off non-objective abstract. But hey maybe it will allow me to do something alot different and as i think all these excercises will do learn something.

 

I guess it looks like Heavy has stepped up to be the Clement Greenberg of the thread. Good critiques. Dont agree with alot but it did give me a new persepective to look at.

 

All in all man i cant believe this thread is picking up so much steam.

 

pat yourself on the back guys.

[Hayabusa]

booo might break out some watercolors for this

or maybe mix it

dont know

im pretty lazy to get paints out, but i did a rough line drawing of the landscape

[Bojangles]

That landscape is awesome.

 

How big?

 

It's about 8x24