Abstract by Design

1. Welcome : Hey, everyone. Welcome to Abstract by design. I'm so thrilled to welcome you for this mixed media course where I will be sharing all the secrets, tools, techniques, what I used to make my abstract mixed media paintings. In this course, I will be sharing each and every step, how I create these paintings by starting with a watercolor background, add some sprays, stencils, and then narrate a story of my emotions. Can't wait to start the class. But before starting the class, let's see some material guide. At the end of the course, you will also have 5 minutes of meditation time, which will help you to deal with yourself critics. 2. Material : Hey, everyone. Welcome, and let's start with our course. So first, material guide, I am using watercolor paper, 300 GSM. You can use any brand you have. Watercolor paints. Can be used the palette one or I'm using the tube ones, which is more convenient for me. I also have acrylic ink, so if you have it, you can use it, and if you don't have it, watercolor will work the best. If you're planning to use the stencils, then you need the pain spray. I will be using stencils for this artwork, but this is completely optional. Pain brushes, any size, any brand you have already at home. I do use gatos from Faber castle. These are water soluble. You can use oil pastels or any other crayons you already have it. Always remember for mixed media abstract, you don't have to follow exactly what I am using. You can use any medium, any material you already have at home. So see you in the class. 3. Free flow background : Let's dive into the class. In today's video, I'll guide you through the process of intuitive painting and creating free flow backgrounds. I'm using the big brush and I already have set my paint palette. This exercise is essential for exploring colors, relaxing and allow yourself to move your hands freely on the canvas and paper. I will begin with wet on wet technique where I will apply the water first. I am using some water spray which will help me to spread the water evenly on my paper. Okay. Along with the watercolor, I will also use acrylic ink. You can use any medium you already have. It can be watercolor or acrylic paint, even just a regular school supply water paints. As an abstract artist, you will learn to trust your intuition and hone your skills. This is a very important exercise for any Bigner who wish to paint abstract. Free flow backgrounds are all about letting the color blend and flow naturally, creating an organic and fluid visual experience. There are a few techniques which you can always apply in your painting. I have also mentioned these techniques in the workbook, so you can always go to the project section and download that worksheet, which will help you to remember the techniques. Watercolor wash, wet on wet technique, acrylic pouring, ink blotting, or salt technique. There are many, many, many techniques which you can explore. But currently, at this point, as a complete bigner when you are starting your journey with abstract, I always suggest to just keep it simple and go with wet on wet. Once the first layer is dry, you can always apply the second layer and then third layer. So the colors won't turn into the muddy colors, and you will still have control on your color palette. Now, let's see some of my paintings which I create over the time, and you can see I have created some mini paintings like a very small, mini postcard size, in which I just experiment with different colors. This is all my warm color scheme in which I apply red, yellow, then pinks and purples and blues. But for all these paintings, I did one thing. I apply the color first then I wait for the color to get dry, and then I apply the next color. This helped me to not get all the muddy and too much of mixing of the colors. So the project is you need to make as many as you can before you go to the next step. So try to make your free flow paintings and we'll see you in the next video. Okay. 4. Connect with your Background : Hey, everyone, welcome to the next video, and I hope you have already submitted your project and enjoy the process of free flow painting. Right now, this background is completely dry. I just need to take a moment to observe what exactly I will be doing next. I just want to see the lines and shapes and what are the layers coming around. As you can feel that sometimes by observing your background and looking close at the layers, the colors, the emotions, they evoke. And I immediately feel that let me start adding some second layer. These are some of my handmade papers. I do have some stencils and while looking around these elements, I immediately feel that let's add some stencils. I will be using different stencils and I will use a spray paint to add my second layer, while I'm doing this, if you don't have the stencils and spray, you can just simply add or apply another layer. Maybe you can use crayons or oil pastels. Or just sticking some collage magazines newspaper pieces. Let me ask you a question. What do you feel? How does it make you feel? Trust your intuition. Sometimes the canvas or paper speak to us, revealing hidden shapes and symbols. The horizon often symbolize hope possibilities and the new beginning. It's where the sky meet the Earth, and the circle represents unity, wholeness, and infinity. It has no beginning or end. This suddenly came into my mind while I was spraying and using stencils, and I just quickly grab my water soluble crayons and start adding the horizon line. Also with a white water soluble crayon, I just free handed my circle. Okay, so watercolor, soluble crayons or oil pastels will be the best choice for adding more layers into your work because they can easily blend into your background. I'm adding another layer of watercolor to make my foreground pop and the circle will remain in the same colors and textures. You can use any medium you want. You can also apply second layer for acrylic or you can add some more collage on it. So this is completely up to your choice, and the materials you already have at home. While just adding this color, a second wave of inspiration just came into my mind, and it's like I feel to add birds. I'm more inspired by nature for this season. But if you have some other inspiration, you can always go with it. You can do different writings. You can add some pictures or photographs or just cut out a picture of a bird and you can stick that. I'm also adding more circles, which I will be leaving it exactly like this and I might use acrylic paint. To add in my background means in my foreground. So the colors of my background will remain the same. It will be more like a positive and negative space. I don't want to go deep into it because if you're an absolute bigner you might get confused. So I'm just adding to make my sky looks more subtle and the colors which I have inside the circles will be the same as my background. So it makes a nice quite interesting effect in the background painting. Just remember as an artist, there are so many things to explore. Art is all about exploration and discovery. Trust that your instincts will guide you. Finally, bringing my gatos in front of me, keeping all the same colors, which I will be using to add more layers. You can use any medium you already have it. Let's just keep going and keep adding till we feel that okay now it's time to stop. After adding more colors, watercolors, gatos, pastels, I will start sketching my bird. Till now, don't forget to send me a picture of your work for your background before adding any element. I would love to see what did you create, what colors you have done it. So you can upload your work, your paintings in project section. I would love to see your work. So see you in the next video. 5. Final Step : Hey, everyone. Welcome back to this lesson, and this is the last lesson. We are going to finalize our painting, and I'm starting with a sketch. If you are a little hesitant to sketch freely, you can always download the template of the bird from projects. After the sketching is done, I will be using black and white color. I'm going to use some oil pastels, gatos, whatever medium you have, if you wish to do some collage on the bird, you can do that. If you wish to make a colorful bird, you can do that. So try to trust your own intuition, keep going what you feel at this moment. I am using gelatos and oil pastels and water soluble crayons because I will be just blending them with my finger, starting with the gray and white bird. You can always choose any color of your choice. You can do some collage. You can use acrylic paint. We need to use something opaque. It can be oil pastels or acrylic paint because we already have so many layers. After adding the oil pastels and gelatos, I am using white acrylic paint, and just creating the layers and layers to cover my background and the transparency what I'm having in my bird. I am using the ink from Vincent and Newton to add the branch because I really want that very solid effect on my background. So you can also use acrylic paint. You can use marker, whatever you already have at home. So far, this is how it looks and I'm loving it and can't wait to see your final project. The background looks beautiful. There are so many different layers, and I will just apply again, pastels, crayons, water solble work on the eye by adding some white highlight and just keep going according to your own intuition. Here, I have some rubber stems, which I always love it. I always apply the writing one because it gives a very pretty, very nice whimsical effect as writing. Most of the time people ask me that, Oh, did you use some newspapers? So I never tell them the secrets. So this is only for you that these are the rubber stems which I use for my paintings to add a little bit of writings. Finally, the class is coming to end, and I can't wait to see your project. So don't forget to upload your free flow project, your backgrounds, your narrative, what story you connect, what emotions came while you were creating. For me, the emotions were mixed. I feel this is me inside a circle and just want to take a flight. And also, don't forget to meditate. Meditation will help you to control your self criticism and appreciate your own work. Can't wait to see your projects. Don't forget to leave your reviews about the class, what you want to see next, what kind of a technique you wish to see. Would you like to have more therapeutic sessions or would you like to do some kind of an art therapy with me? Take care of everyone and creating. 6. Meditation: Close your eyes, take a deep breath and settle into a comfortable position. As you sit with your artwork, recognize the miracle of creation. Your hands brought forth something unique, a piece of your soul on canvas. Feel gratitude for this act of self expression. Gently open your eyes and look at your painting, release any critical thoughts. Instead, observe the colors, shapes and textures. Each stroke tells a story. Embrace imperfection as part of your journey. What emotion does your art evoke? Feel them fully joy, nostalgia, Curiosity. Let them wash over you. Art is a bridge to your inner world. Acknowledge whatever I arise. When self doubt creeps in, visualize a serene lake. Drop your critical thoughts onto its still water. Wash them ripple away. Remember, every artist faces doubts. It's a part of the process. Now, close your eyes again, breathe deeply. Imagine your art surrounded by a soft glow. Feel the piece it radiates. As you open your eyes, Thank your artwork. It holds a piece of your heart. Whether it hang on a gallery wall or rest in a sketch book. It matters matters. Imagine your art as a dear friend, speak kindly to it. You are enough. You are beautiful. Just as you would encourage a loved one. Extend that compassion to your creation.