i'm starting a new series of paintings

this new series is all abstract stuff
dealing with hardly anything but color
on canvas.

i think it's a cross between Mark Rothko's color field paintings and Jackson Pollock's expressive brushstrokes.

through the influence of my mentor Jaime Brunson i added a new twist by making my paint a little transparent, allowing the viewer to see through the multiple layers of color.

the process of creating these new abstract paintings has been liberating... and fun!
coming from a figure drawing and representational background, i have always concerned myself with the rules of human anatomy, proportion, perspective, likeness blah blah blah...
but now i feel so much more freedom in expressing my creativity with out so many rules. even though drawing and painting the human figure will always be my first love, i am finding myself quite fascinated with the pure act of putting paint on the canvas. i have taken away the challenges of representing the real world, and i have pretty much stripped it down to color, texture, and depth.

the product is a surface that looks like a field of color from a far, and a harmonious amalgam of colors at closer view. because of the transparent nature of the paint, light is able to travel inside and slightly illuminate the painting.

here is an example

eventually, when i am more confident and i have explored this idea enough, i will bring this concept of abstract surfaces into my more personal theme which includes images that represent my world.