I take a lot of photos as I observe my surroundings be it on walks in the countryside, seaside or casually wandering around town. Textures, shapes and line interest me and I am also very observant of shadow and light. I cannot walk past an image or pattern cast by hard light without photographing it. There is something special in its redefined form. All these elements feature in my abstract paintings but are not taken literally from my photographs.
I also crop sections from a photograph, enlarge it and then use it to spark new ideas focusing on composition.
Seaside
Growing up in the Caribbean a day out to the beach would not be complete without walking to the far end of the bay where the fishermen kept their boats. Since a young child the textures of the wood from the remains of the peeled paint interested me. I was recently living in Cromer, a small seaside town on the east coast of England and on my morning beach walks I would see the fishermen hauling their boats by tractors leaving chunky tire marks on the wet sand. The repetition of the lines making patterned trails towards the ocean was an art piece in itself!
I am also inspired by the random shapes from the pools of water that remain as the tide subsides. The colourful buoys and bits of seaweed and rope hanging from the pylons also grab my attention and are prime examples of abstract art inspiration.
Observe, and in that observation there is neither the observer nor the observed – there is only observation taking place.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Countryside
Having recently moved to Scarborough I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time exploring the nearby Yorkshire Wolds and North Yorkshire Moors. The large open spaces of the landscape are appealing to me and so I have been paying more attention to the horizon line where the vast landscape meets the big Yorkshire sky. I use the fields and skies as inspiration to create more space in my work.
Some of my walks take me through farmer’s land where I capture the rusty metal textures, orange and copper colours from their old farm machinery.
Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.
David Hume
Town
I love discovering new places and whenever I am in a new city or town the first thing I look forward to is an early morning stroll before the crowds descend. The most photographed images in my collection are of weathered walls and doors.
I’ve been finding new ways to create textures that resemble grungy plaster and old brick walls and I mainly use palette knives, scrapers, loop tools (recently found out the official name of my pottery tool!), metal brushes and spatulas to create these textures.
I hope you enjoyed reading Abstract Art Inspiration. If you would like to know more about how I start my paintings click here to read blogpost An Inward Journey to the Outer World.
