Abstract and Modern Art Paintings Blog

Glow in the dark paintings

Posted by Swarez on May 24, 2010  |  No Comments

I happened upon fluorescent paint quite by accident when I visited an art supplies store in London recently. I have been steadily working it into my paintings here and there over the last month or so simply because I liked the brash and lively things it did when added to ordinary colours. It has the effect of bringing the painting alive somehow. So imagine my surprise when a friend of mine suggested that we see what happens when we illuminate a piece with an ultra violet light source? The result, it’s fair to say, was jaw-dropping and a complete revelation to me.

Busy, busy, busy

Posted by Swarez on March 19, 2010  |  No Comments

Typical, you wait for an eternity after Christmas and then commissions come flying at you from all directions! Not that you’ll ever hear me complaining. What this means though is that there is now a waiting list of people wanting art made for them and the spaces they live in. I guess that’s sometimes the way it is.

I visited a couple yesterday who have a fantastic barn conversion and an incredible main living space – it’s going to be a privilege to paint for them if I’m honest as it’s rare to get a property that lends itself to large statement pieces of art. I also have a project at a coffee shop near the south coast which is nearing completion and installation. I don’t normally mention the private commissions much but this particular one is going to look stunning, even if I say so myself! In fact, I have taped the signature piece during creation and hope to have that one uploaded and edited before too long (it’s about time I got another painting captured and put onto You-Tube).

Oh and did I mention the trip to Atlanta in the summer? Well, looks like I have an invitation to go paint for a very high profile client but I am sworn to secrecy. Oh and then there’s the Dubai thing (no joke, honest!) which is on the back burner. I honestly have no idea what’s going on it’s all so hectic at the moment – what I do know is that I am shortly going to be launching a really exciting new concept taking the drip painting technique to a whole new level (to be launched on it’s own website). It ‘aint gonna be cheap but then it is gonna be jaw-droppingly fabulous (so I have been told by the few that have seen it).

One year in paintings

Posted by Swarez on March 10, 2010  |  No Comments

Click image to see video

I decided to take a long, lingering look back at the past twelve months and piece together the paintings that best reflected the work I had done and the progress I have made. I think as artists we are always learning – whether it be about the technicalities of paint, discovering new applications or learning more about ourselves so it’s good to sometimes look back on the 80% you have achieved and not always at the 20% you haven’t.

How I paint Abstract Art (Part One)

Posted by Swarez on February 22, 2010  |  No Comments

Click to read full post

I’m often asked how I paint what I paint. What I mean by that is what kind of twisted bizarre things are there in my head to make me want to consciously paint some of the things I do. I don’t find the process of painting abstract difficult, ideas happen randomly, sometimes planned, sometimes not. The root of the form lies with the ability to see something in your head, either as a whole or in parts. Sometimes I only see bits at a time so I work on those. Normally I am driven by shapes and colours and how they interact with each other to make new forms. No matter what artists tell you every abstract is an experiment. Why? Ask an artist if they are ever happy with any of their works or whether they have re-painted a piece because it wasn’t right. The reason is because it doesn’t work. And if it doesn’t work then it’s gone wrong – experiments go wrong.

Chaos Controlled – An artists guide to drip painting

Posted by Swarez on February 13, 2010  |  1 Comment

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It’s impossible, when talking about the techniques of drip or controlled pour painting, not to mention the influence of Jackson Pollock on the genre. His work is as controversial now as it was fifty years ago, yet whilst much is talked of the man and his paintings seldom is written about the actual process and techniques of drip painting or what an artist thinks about whilst he or she is engaged in their work. I will try and give you an insight into the technique from my own perspective, which is in no way linked to or copied from anyone else’s style or work.

How it all gets started

I lay a blank piece of canvas on the floor. At this point I know what colours I am using and the basic structure of what I want to produce. I can see very clearly what the finished article will look like. Right down to the sizes of the strokes, depth of colour, how many layers it will be composed of, how I’m going to thin the paints and in what order I will start. I spend a long time mixing colours and even longer on the thinning process, using a number of different thinning agents and in different ratios of paint to thinners. This affects how the painting will look when it dries.

The Great Modern Art Paradox

Posted by Swarez on February 3, 2010  |  2 Comments

You don’t have to understand or appreciate modern art to recognise the most shocking thing about it these days – there is no shock anymore. What was once the bastion of originality and pretentiousness has become mainstream and conservative and, despite more and more media attention for the genre, these days the controversy surrounding artists has all but gone forever. To me, the groundbreaking times we have enjoyed have gone. Not even the sight of Grayson Perry in a dress raises eyebrows anymore.

Now where did I leave my inspiration?

Posted by Swarez on December 9, 2009  |  No Comments