Abstracts Made Easier: How to build new abstract compositions using old Artworks and an I-Phone.

Ever been in a rut with your abstract paintings? When you’re looking for new ideas for abstract compositions, it is sometimes difficult to find the perfect source. Well, not anymore! This blog will show you how easy it is to create abstract art from existing pieces of your work, without spending hours searching.

You may not know it, but if you have a bunch of old artworks or failed paintings lying around your home, congratulations! You may already have a treasure trove of new abstract compositions hiding under your nose! And with the help of your viewfinder on your smartphone, finding an arrangement of abstract shapes can be easier than ever!

So grab some artworks and stay with me for a bit to see just how easy it is to extract a multitude of mini compositions that will be the inspiration for a bunch of new painting ideas.

CREATING MINI COMPOSITIONS

So what exactly IS a 'mini composition’? It’s simply an abstract composition that sits within the larger one. Let me show you what I mean. Here's an artwork that I did many moons ago. I love this piece! It's one of my earlier abstract paintings and there are actually so many new design ideas within it. I enjoy the dynamic shapes and movement in this painting. It’s a good example.

The first step is to find an interesting area from your artwork - a part that draws you in with abstract shapes, colour, lines or some other form of visual interest such as tonal value or pattern. Next, move your camera's viewfinder around the artwork until you find an area of it that feels like a mini design that ‘holds its own’ as a strong composition in its own right. 

You'll be surprised at just how many you can find. In fact, you may find it difficult to choose because there are so many other parts that you would like to include. So, go for it! Take as many photos as you want. You can always group them together into a mini composition later on.

For now, here are the four areas I chose as mini designs and that I believe have potential for larger artworks. 

These certainly aren’t the only four on offer – I could continue to break these down even further or find other areas to simplify into mini designs. Really, the more I look, the more new designs pop out. So much good inspiration! In all of these cases, the design patterns, movement and colour could be further developed into a brand new artwork. 

Let's do the same again but this time with a different design.

IT’S ALL ABOUT INSPIRATION

Hopefully from the above examples, you get the drift of how simple it is to create many mini compositions. The important thing is not to overthink things – it's just a cool exercise to spark ideas along. 

Sometimes starting with a small idea is all you need to get the creativity flowing and you never know, it might be the foundation for your next award-winning abstract. I hope that you are feeling inspired with some new ideas for abstract compositions from your own artworks. I would love to see your results and how you get on so please send me some pics of what you come up with. 

Until next time,

Stay Creative! :) 

xo Sharon