Steps for Abstraction - Three Works in Progress

It is -6F (-21C) and with the wind chill it feels like -25F (-31.7C) we already have 4" (10.2cm) of snow on the ground and it is still snowing.

With all the schools in the area closed and many of the people coming into the class with Lucy Manley at KAGS are from outlying areas it was decided that the class was cancelled.

So today I decided I would work on an exercise in how to change a realistic drawing into a semi abstract and then into an abstract.

The first step is to make a realistic drawing of the subject matter preferably on a slightly tinted paper which can be used as the mid tone colour and add the lights using white and the darks using black.








The drawing was to be completed in 20 minutes. Since my drawing was the basis for a painting I would like to do entitled North American Built I ran out of time before I could add the lights and darks.










For the next step 15 minutes was given to do the same drawing with less details and more emphasis on the light and the dark shapes.

While the shapes still are recognizable as cars and trucks the type of vehicle they are is not well defined.










For the third stage only 10 minutes was allowed to put in the black and white shapes; while still recognizable as automobiles, the makes and models can no longer be discerned.

I have left the three different ones stacked one on top of the other so the differences can more clearly be seen.

It is an interesting exercise and I will post each of the North American Built paintings as the drawings are tightened up and I decide in which media I would like to use as each one is completed.