4 small abstract paintings

"Undertow" 1-4, Acrylic on paper. A continuation of my abstract painting series focusing on the landscape.

Thanksgiving is next weekend, and so my painting time is going to be curtailed a bit this coming week. Working at an American corporation on an American account while being situated in Canada has it's drawbacks. Specifically, the general chaos that ensues the week before a long weekend that Canada and the U.S. do not share. Thank goodness there's an extra day off involved... I'm sure I'll need a bit of time to myself after the busyness of it all. 

I've been trying to find time to get back to doing some non-objective work. As much as I love painting people, it's nice to not have to be concerned with anatomy or realism in any sense. Doing completely abstract work I can focus on emotion, colour and composition.... expressing something without traditional form. I had started these 4 small pieces while I was in Dunedin in August. Now that I've had a bit of distance it was good to take a second look at them and figure out what I needed to finish them off. 

"Undertow | 1"  9x12" Acrylic on paper

"Undertow | 2"  9x12" Acrylic on paper

"Undertow | 3"  9x12" Acrylic on paper

"Undertow | 4"  9x12" Acrylic on paper

One thing I was consciously trying to do is tone down my colour palette. I am drawn to intense, expressive colour. It's been pointed out to me, more than once, that by toning down some areas the bright, saturated colours will have more impact. Given that these pieces are inspired by nature, specifically water, highly saturated colour didn't seem to fit... a perfect instance to experiment with neutralized hue.  I think these were pretty successful, and they feel more like my "style" than some of the other pieces I've done. And they look quite good matted and lined up as a series. Happy.