I work in what I call objective abstraction and follow two of my "unique reality" rules, usually just intuitively. Interestingly, the methods of visual abstraction impacts also my writing.
But first, what is abstraction?
Abstraction as a process is deriving general rules and concepts from specific examples.
Unique Reality Rules
These "rules" have emerged from practice. I have not imposed them on myself, I just realized I follow them.
- The uniqueness of the object of attention is prioritized: its individuality is not generalized to represent an average or a norm and it is not forced to represent any group statistically as an example. Its position in space and time and its interactions with its surroundings matter as much as its concept. Yet the depiction gives the observer a feeling of a deeper understanding of this object's function or purpose, partially based on the observer's knowledge.
- Objective reality remains present and observed honestly here and now, including light and the artist's perception of non-visual conditions like air, moisture, gravity, aromas, sounds, and the feelings they evoke.
Visual and Verbal Abstraction
Visual Abstraction
All my handmade paintings are abstract to some extent. All my abstracts contain the reality of my thoughts, feelings, and the play of light I perceive. In almost all of my artwork, you can detect some symbolism. I love abstract portraits and spontaneous thought expression.
In digital graphics and still and motion photography, I am drawn to the most beautiful expressions of a person's character and often take it to the level of symbolic abstraction.
Verbal Abstraction
In writing true stories, I filter the information to select only relevant to my purpose aspects. I often do not name the characters and leave out their less significant qualities. My angle of view is defined by generalizations derived from a multitude of other situations and conditions I know.
All genuine art is abstract. <...> “Abstraction” is the recognition of a relational structure, or form, apart from the specific thing (or event, fact, image, etc.) in which it is exemplified. <...> This instinctive mental activity is the process of symbol-making, of which the most amazing result is language. <...> Genuine abstraction is a relatively late achievement, born of reflection on the works of art and science, and fully understood only by means of the latter. - Susanne K. Langer, Abstraction in Science and Abstraction in Art http://www.anthonyflood.com/langerabstraction.htm
Representational and Abstract Art
To put my method of objective abstraction into a bigger picture:
- Representational art - objective and figurative: depiction of the physical appearance of reality as perceived, objective and realistic elements in images, an illusion of visible reality, resemblance and likeness to independently existing beings and objects or memories or ideas of them;
- Abstract art: visual language of shape, color, and line, compositions created largely independently from visual references.
- Objective abstraction (this is how I call it) is based on the subject that exists in the real world but then presents it in a new way, with higher levels of abstraction than in representational art. The aim is not to depict but to analyze reality and show its processed perception.
- Non-objective art does not replicate entities of the natural world or artifacts at all.
Representation in My Art
Representative art: depiction of environments, organisms, and objects.
In my view, all art I do is abstraction of some level, but I live pure abstraction almost disconnected from the casually percieved reality: I like to depict thought, emotions, numbers, some mathematical ideas, extreme macros of objects percieved with open eyes and the images I see with the closed eyes.
Abstraction
Abstract expression - depicting something not having a physical or concrete existence.
Origins of Visual Abstraction
- Calligraphy: Chinese and Islamic.
- Far East painting schools: Wang Mo (王墨) (splashed-ink);
- Chan-buddhist painting, Liang Kai (梁楷), Zen art (e.g. enso), Dajian Huineng (大鑒惠能), Sesshu Toyo;
- Tiantai buddhism: Yu Jian (mid-13th century),
- Daoist painting: Zhu Derun
Portrait & Figure
Representation of faces and figures of human beings (Homo sapiens sapiens) in my artwork is usually motivated by the expressiveness of the emotion, depth of ideas, or beauty.
My fine art portraiture and figurative paintings are primarily based on figure drawings of nude and dressed life models and other real people. I rarely use photographs. Sometimes, I analyze my own photographs taken from different angles and in different lighting for a while, to commit to the general feel of the personality to my mind, and then work from there.
Photographic environmental portraits and videographic depiction of persons are more meaningful to me than most other real life depictions.
Portraits - artistically represented persons, depiction of persons or groups, figurative art (figures and silhouettes) - realistic or at higher levels of abstraction - that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject.
Portrait painting is a figure painting that
focuses on the creation of a likeness of a particular individual or
group.
The focus of a portrait is usually the face, but the entire body and the background or context may be included, especially in environmental portraits.
A figure painting is a work of fine art in any of the painting media with the primary subject being the human figure, whether clothed or nude.
In figure drawing only dry media is used, it may be a composed work of art or a figure study done in preparation for a more finished work such as a painting.
A life drawing or painting is a rendering artistic representation of the human figure from observation of a live model.
The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, anatomically correct renderings to loose and expressive sketches.
Artwork made during real-time sessions with life models, dressed and nude, professionals and volunteers. Artwork made during sessions with life model.
Sexuality and Eroticism
Appearances of human beings in my painting range from masculinity, through androgyny, to femininity:
- male-like ♂️XY♂,
- androgynous ⚥⚧⚨⚦⚩,
- female-like ♀️XX♀.
Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics, being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine in appearance or behavior, uniting sexes in one.
Male is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete known as sperm.
Female is the sex of an organism that produces non-mobile ova that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
During reproduction, the male contributes either an X sperm or a Y sperm, while the female always contributes an X egg. A Y sperm and an X egg produce a male, while an X sperm and an X egg produce a female. - Wikipedia
Gender is the range of characteristics of femininity and masculinity that include biological sex, sex-based social structures like gender roles, or personal gender identity.
Flora & Fauna
Representing wild life, animals and vegetation, ecosystems and individual living organisms.
Flora - plants observed collectively, an assemblage of plant species, any botanical characteristics of the environment - forests, trees, bushes, flowers, etc.
Fauna, animal life - representation of animals and other living beings, that usually have the capacity for spontaneous movement, and differ from plants and from people.
Organisms are individual forms of life, composed of cells - organic living systems that functions as an individual entities.
Being is an individual form of life, an organism, or an imaginary creature.
I like to depict trees, bushes, and other perennial vegetation, including flowers, all kinds of blossoms, petals, colorful leaves:
Tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves.
Flower, or bloom, or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants, division Magnoliophyta, angiosperms.
I sometimes include animals - most often birds, but also reptiles, mammals, fishes, and other depicted animals.
Still Life and Interior
Nature morte /naˈtʃʊə ˈmɔːt/ - still life pictures, depictions of objects, artifacts, constructions, all still and artificial life inspired artworks.
Natures mortes depict various inanimate objects with some level of abstraction.
Artifacts are objects made by human beings: handmade and mass-produced things and tools.
Object is something material, relatively stable in form, visible or tangible, a thing that you can see or touch.
Exterior
Outdoor views, urban exploration, exterior of buildings, architecture, structures built outside, freestanding objects, constructions, sculptures and reliefs, exterior surfaces and decorations, external architectural designs.
Building - a usually roofed and walled structure built for permanent use, a relatively permanent enclosed construction over a plot of land, having a roof and usually windows.
Facade - one exterior side of a building, usually the front.
Sculpture - an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects.
Interior
Indoor views, being within a structure, inside of buildings or planes, interior design.
Interior - situated or being within or inside, private or hidden - an internal or inner part, the inside of a building, apartment, or room, or a pictorial representation of the inside of a room or building.
Landscape and City
Landscapes represent views of natural scenery or countryside, and these depictions I create rarely.
Cityscapes are landscapes with focus on man-made features: urban landscape, city scenes, representations of parts of cities and towns, and other urban areas.
Waterscape is a representation of a body of water in pictures, or any image in which an expanse of water is a dominant feature, as in a riverscape (river scene) or a seascape (marine).
Skyscapes are representations of the sky, usually with outlined terrestrial objects, but also without any view of land. Some phenomena might be included: clouds, precipitation, rainbows, leaves, birds, insects and other flying objects, manmade aircraft, kites, and balloons.
Sometimes I go to sketch and paint outside, usually with a group of artists.
En plein air is the act of painting outdoors, in direct or diffused light.
This method was practiced by some of my favorite artists: Paul Cézanne, Valentin Serov, Claude Monet, Konstantin Korovin, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, and Igor Grabar.
- Reference Code: LN21A22AB0
