How to Draw Abstract Painting

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This article was co-written by Kelly Medford. Kelly Medford is an American painter living in Rome, Italy. She majored in classical painting, drawing and printmaking in the US and Italy. She mainly works on the streets in Rome and also travels for international collectors organizations. She is the founder of Sketching Rome Tours, where she teaches visitors to The Eternal City how to use sketchbooks. Kelly graduated from the Florence Academy of Art.

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Have you ever looked at an abstract painting and heard someone say “I can do that too!”? Abstract painting looks easy to draw but it is actually more challenging than traditional or classical painting. Because abstract art defies all rules and conventions. The work depends on the artist himself to break the rules, express and decide what art is. First, prepare a few things needed to draw. Then decide if you prefer to paint an abstract work consisting of random geometric patterns (in the style of Paul Yanko or Thornton Willis), or a minimalist painting that features large, bold shapes (like the style of Piet Mondrian). and Paul Klee), or you want to focus more on the creation process (like Jackson Pplock or Mark Rothko).

Table of Contents

Preparing to draw

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Buy canvas fabric. You can buy pre-made fabrics of all sizes at craft stores. These fabrics are usually ready-to-use, however there is no rule that requires you to use a pre-framed and primed canvas. In fact, abstract painters often use unstretched canvas and no primer. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If you prefer a colored background, buy a jar of Gesso to prime and let the canvas have color. Primer usually dries very quickly.

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Select paint color. Decide whether you will use acrylics or oil colors. Acrylics are odorless and dry quickly, so they are easy to apply and can be overpainted. On the contrary, oil colors are rarely used because of the smell, take a long time to dry and cannot be overpainted when drawing incorrectly.

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Select brushes and other tools. Choose any brush you like that can be used with the color you just selected. You will probably need to add a tinting trowel, to give the picture some texture. While artists use easels, many abstract painters spread the canvas on the floor so they can work more closely with the work. ^{[2] X Research Source}

If you’re not sure how to mix colors, try using a palette/color wheel. This tool will show you which colors work well together.

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Change clothes. Depending on what mess you expect your work to cause, wear an old shirt or a painted apron. What kind of clothes should be worn so that you don’t have to worry about it but can concentrate more on the abstract painting process.

You may want to spread out some newspapers to prevent the paint from melting or spilling, especially if you plan to splash color or spread the canvas on the floor.

Learn color theory

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Color wheel. Basically, a color wheel is a circular tool with many colors. This tool is effective in showing the relationship between colors with each other – which colors work well together, which colors clash… etc. ^{[3] X Research Source}

You can buy a color wheel at your local art supply store, craft store, or paint store.

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Understand primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Basically the color wheel is divided into 3 parts: primary colors (red, blue, yellow). Secondary colors are bridges created by mixing 3 primary colors (green, orange, purple). Tertiary colors can be created by mixing primary and secondary colors (yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green). ^{[4] X Research Sources}

To get used to tinting, try making your own color wheel.

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Learn about warm colors and cool colors. Warm colors, like red, yellow, and orange tend to create movement and expand space. Cold colors such as blue, green, and purple give the picture depth and less movement. They are calm colors. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

White, black, and gray are considered neutral colors.

Work with dithering. There are many formulas for choosing colors that can be mixed together. Particular:

Analogous color schemes: Choose two or three colors next to each other on the color wheel. In it, there will be one color that is the main color in the picture, but in general, all 3 colors together will be beautiful.

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Complementary color schemes: Choose two colors that are opposite on the color wheel. These colors will stand out together.

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Triangular color scheme: Choose 3 colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. If we connect these 3 colored points, we will have a triangle. These colors are also very striking together.

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Draw random geometric blocks

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Create background textures. One of the easiest ways is to apply quality Gesso onto the canvas, which is a strong glue-like primer. ^{[6] X Research Source} Sweep Gesso onto fabric as paint, or use trowel, if paint is thick enough. This step helps you control the texture in the style you want to aim for.

You can also leave the canvas smooth and blank as before. Again, there’s no rule that you have to color the foreground. Many artists keep drawing straight on the canvas.

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Apply masking tape at the intersection points on the drawing board. Use painter’s tape and apply several lines, creating geometric shapes like triangles, squares, and rectangles. The goal is to create images that don’t need to be true to reality. The tape will give your shapes a clear line and shape.

Use a ruler and pencil instead of tape. If you don’t want the marks left by the tape after it’s removed, you can use a ruler and pencil. Put down your ruler and draw random geometric shapes.

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Tinting. Select the paint color you want to use for the work. Blend them on the palette. You can also blend colors directly on the canvas, but this also makes it difficult to control the finished product.

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Draw in the space that has been divided with tape. Don’t worry if the bowl accidentally sticks to the masking tape. Also, don’t force yourself to fill the canvas or the shapes.

On the abstract painter will outline the blocks before coloring. Some other artists just like to mix and paint without borders.

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Remove the adhesive tape. After completing the drawing, remove the tape. If you like clean lines and corners, remove the tape while the color is still wet. If you remove the tape when the color is dry, there is a high chance that the paint will also be pulled, causing the corners to chip. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Depending on your preference, fill in all the white spaces after removing the glue. After removing the tape, there will be white spaces left because while drawing was covered by the tape. You can leave the lines as they are or fill them in.

Minimalist geometric abstract painting

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Create background textures. One of the easiest ways is to apply quality Gesso onto the canvas, which is a strong glue-like primer. ^{[8] X Research Source} Sweep Gesso onto fabric as paint, or use trowel, if paint is thick enough. This step helps you control the texture in the style you want to aim for.

You can also use thick paper or poster paper. If this method is chosen, there is no need to prime the surface.

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Use a ruler and pencil to draw lines. You can draw multiple unevenly spaced horizontal lines, as well as vertical lines. Draw as many lines as you like, but remember with fewer lines, the blocks of blocks will be larger.

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Draw border. Use black to create bold outlines. You can draw this line bold and light. Your painting now looks like a grid with black borders.

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Just color a few blocks. Take a base color (red, yellow, blue) and fill in some shapes with paint. You can fill all the blocks, but that will make the picture confusing. Instead choose a few patches to paint, they will stand out more.

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Cjwfa some spaces. White spaces will make your colors stand out more. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Gestural style abstract painting

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Move the canvas to the floor. Many abstract artists do this to get closer to the work. Plus when you’re doing gestural, action, or abstract paintings, laying the canvas on the floor will be easy to color in many ways.

Don’t think you can’t move the canvas while drawing. You can actually create a unique design by placing the canvas on the floor and then pulling the canvas upside down while the paint is still wet for a flowing effect.

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Don’t hesitate. With the gestural abstract style, you don’t have to try to present a clear image. Instead, focus on the drawing process. Try as many brush strokes as you like.

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Blend colors directly onto the canvas. Because this style focuses on the drawing process, you don’t have to worry about using a palette, instead blend directly on the canvas when drawing.

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Optionally, you can pour colors on the canvas. Filling the canvas is a way to make a painting unique and unpredictable. Fill in as many paint colors as you want.

Notice the distance from where you pour the paint. Pouring paint from above creates a splashing effect, while pouring closer looks more controlled and precise.

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Scale or paint on the canvas, it’s up to you. Use whatever you like and dip and paint on the picture. Then flick to create a splash effect or hold the tool on the canvas to let the color flow.

You can use a brush, a straw, a squeeze bottle, or an old toothbrush to swish or drip color onto the painting.

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Try drawing with your eyes closed. One thing that most abstract painters agree on is that abstract paintings should not depict reality. One of the best ways to prevent yourself from accidentally drawing a particular shape is to close your eyes and draw.

Allow brushes and colors to glide across the canvas without worrying about the image you’ve just created. This drawing is more about the experience than the finished product.

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Stop when you feel the work is done. Don’t go back to develop or edit. Abstract artists don’t think much about the finished product, they just stop when they feel the painting is ready. Don’t add to your paintings, but learn to stop when you feel finished.

Advice

Start drawing by thinking of an object, or scene. Don’t think of a particular picture, just indulge in thinking about the shape of the object. Your imagination and feeling will create the picture on the canvas. Remember that you are interpreting it, not drawing it.
Study the principles of composition and see if you can draw abstract paintings based on the ideas of one of the principles instead of on the concrete object. This way can sometimes create a good abstract work! You will be happy with the finished product.
Abstract painting is based on the idea that the work doesn’t have to be exactly like the real thing so don’t expect anything. Just step in and experience the abstract drawing process!
You don’t need to draw real things, you can draw anything!
Abstract painting is about fun and is something anyone can do.
Just draw and stop when the picture is good enough for you. Sometimes if you keep drawing, you’ll wish you had stopped sooner.
Draw with your non-dominant hand to create interesting accents.

Steps