Modern Painting Ideas
Two hundred years ago, paintings in the Western world were generally restricted to religious iconography, landscapes and portraits, and the medium used was usually (though not always) oil paint. The world of art has changed so radically in the last two centuries that now paintings may be made from almost any combination of materials, and the subject of a painting may be literally anything. Here are a few ideas for your own modern paintings.
Abstraction
Abstraction is the simplification or distortion of an image to create interest or convey a message to the viewer. Abstraction in painting allows the viewer to look at the subject of the painting in a way that is out of the ordinary.
Abstraction is not a single method of portrayal-it may be handled in innumerable ways and by degrees. For example, an enlargement and closeup of an object may be called an abstraction because the perspective allows the viewer to see the object in a way that is new and different. (Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings of flowers are an excellent demonstration of this approach.) Meanwhile, abstraction may also involve substantial distortion of the subject-as is often the case in Picasso's cubist paintings.
Use abstraction in your own paintings by drawing several studies of your subject from different perspectives, concentrating on different characteristics of the subject in each drawing. After making a few studies, draw a few studies of the studies. In your second round of drawings, emphasize the strengths of the previous drawings. Finally, make paintings of your studies. This breakdown of perception from the original subject should lead to distortions and unique observations that lead to abstractions. Allow your paintings to be loose and free. Remember, you are not trying to paint the subject as it really is-you are trying to paint the subject in a new and different light.
Nonrepresentational Painting
Nonrepresentational painting is often confused with abstract painting. Whereas abstract painting is the abstraction of a specific subject, nonrepresentational painting is not a painting of a subject at all. Nonrepresentational paintings are often called "art for art's sake." With this type of painting the artist has no intention of representing a space or subject-realistic or imagined.
Examples of this type of painting includes Jackson Pollock's drip paintings, Piet Mondrian's geometric paintings and Mark Rothko's color field paintings. To create a nonrepresentational painting pick up your paintbrush, clear your mind and begin to paint. It may be more difficult than you imagine not to turn your painting into a depiction of something, someone or someplace you know. Be loose and free with your brushstrokes.
Multimedia Art
Multimedia art is any art that includes two or more media together in the same piece, or any art that includes one medium combined with unusual objects that normally would not be considered artistic materials at all. For example, a multimedia piece may be acrylic painting on a flat plaster sculpture, all of it wrapped in wire. A painting on canvas with cloth and paper glued to it would also be considered a multimedia piece.
In order to make a multimedia piece, plan your painting before beginning. Draw studies of your painting. Gather the materials you believe you will use. During the painting process, leave yourself open to changes in your plan.
