Thinking and Seeing Abstractly
featuring Skip Whitcomb
This is a tough concept to wrap your head around. Whether we paint figure, still life, or work outdoors, as human beings we are conditioned to see “things.” When we are attempting to paint and organize a painting on location or in the studio, we tend to think subjectively. Rather than seeing a canvas, no matter the size of it, we are still thinking about things rather than seeing that as an initial space comprised of four edges. We need to think about what we will do within the four edges. We need to place masses in an interesting way. That is abstract thinking. How will we divide the space up? Rather than, where will I put the cow? The cow will have a logical place within those four edges if we plan those shapes out so they relate to the four edges of the canvas.
“That division of space and composition becomes interchangeable. Composition is arranging these shapes abstractly on the canvas.”
This can be a little esoteric. But, if we can wrap our mind around the concept of not “things” but shapes, then that is a big step in the right direction. It is important to understand that all painting is abstract. Whether it is nonobjective or naturalistic. As a plein air painter, Skip tends to be more naturalistic. We are not making a stream on a canvas. It is just paint on a canvas. The stream has to acquire a certain shape to it. Think of it this way: it is a wedge shape, or a triangle shape, with some subtle variations in it. Where can we place this triangle within the four edges? How much space will it take up? How much deviation from the triangle shape will it take? Abstract thinking is thinking about how much space these shapes are going to occupy.
That division of space and composition becomes interchangeable. Composition is arranging these shapes abstractly on the canvas. Skip once heard this from a great painter: “Composition is an arrangement of five or fewer unequal shapes with a common interest. That is abstract thinking.” As an aspiring painter, the sooner you can think along the terms of shapes and arrangement and variety, (and that the fewer shapes, the stronger statement) the better. It is an important aspect to the process of comprehending and understanding how to see things abstractly.
Skip Whitcomb is an accomplished painter and a passionate mentor through Tucson Art Academy Online. Click below to join Skip’s next open enrollment:
Listen to Gábor and Skip on the Paint & Clay podcast here