Drops of Color

At some point in the future I’m planning to EXPLORE — that’s my word for 2021, remember — ideas and concepts behind abstract art. I’m interested in learning more, primarily because I think it would be a good adjunct to my studies of design theory. Abstract art is not usually too representational, yet good abstract art — I believe — is rooted in strong design.

Right now I’m still playing with my alcohol inks, still having fun, and more or less still wondering what to do with what I create. I am viewing my practice pieces now, though, not as a meaningless exercise with inks, but as part of my design theory studies.

Here’s today’s ink practice, another example of a “puddle drop” technique. This time, however, instead of applying alcohol to the surface, I used a “blending solution”.

I’m calling this “Jigsaw” because that’s what the shapes reminded me of as I dropped the inks onto the page. I used only the three primary colors — red, yellow, and blue — and I was careful to leave a bit of white paper here and there. This was done, by the way, on a small square of Yupo paper. It’s definitely a good surface for alcohol inks.

In putting this “jigsaw puzzle” together, I tried to keep the basic principles of design — harmony, balance, and rhythm — in mind. Overall, I felt I succeeded in creating an abstract design that does have each of those qualities.

Overall, I was happy with this little piece, and I think using alcohol inks to further my design studies and learn abstract art will be very enjoyable. I hope you like my colorful little jigsaw puzzle. Maybe a few of the pieces in art are starting to fall into place.