Abstract Florals
Debora Stewart combines elements of drawing and abstract painting in her pastel works featuring bountiful blooms
Iam an abstract artist working in both soft pastel on paper and large format acrylic paintings on canvas. I have come full circle in many ways. When I was younger, my focus was primarily figure drawing and portraits. I drew and painted very realistically for many years. I became “stuck” and frustrated with copying photographs, so I began to experiment with working abstractly. I had always been attracted to abstract but had no idea how to begin. Out of frustration I cut some photos up into small pieces and began to draw the small segments. This helped me discover how I could develop abstracts based on realistic subjects. It also helped me to simplify and find abstract shapes. My non-objective pastel abstracts were the result of this experimentation, and I focused on this process for several
years. I played with under paintings, creating my own surfaces, learning different pastel techniques and color theory. I was happy with what I was creating, and abstract was a very good direction for me as I always felt energized and challenged. One winter I bought a bouquet of flowers, which always helps brighten the days in January and February. I realized how I missed drawing from life. I had a strong foundation in drawing, and I hadn’t been practicing it while working on abstracts. I decided to draw the flowers and then I wondered what it might be like if I combined my abstract approach with a more realistic subject matter. I prepared my paper with an abstract underpainting and then drew the bouquet on top of this underpainting. I was excited about what I saw. I loved how the fluid and expressive underpainting had broken the surface of the paper. When I drew the flowers on top of this underpainting it helped me to see the subject in a different way. The underpainting helped to create a more expressive subject. Much of the result was purely accidental which I also loved. I realized that I did not have to portray the flowers in a realistic way.
They could be an abstraction based on nature. Flowers could be any color I wanted them to be. They did not have to represent the actual color of the flower. I could create my own interpretation. A series began to take shape and I started to play with different color schemes and compositions. In turn, the development of the abstract floral pastels also helped me in my abstract acrylic painting. One medium often influences the other. Mark making in pastel influences brushwork. Color mixing with acrylics helps in choosing color schemes for pastels. My current floral pastels are much more realistic than my acrylic paintings. I use the color schemes developed in one to carry over into the other. Lines that I have drawn in an abstract floral pastel often are repeated in an acrylic painting. I have been working on this series of pastels now for several years. I hope to explore more additional themes and compositions. Recently I have been painting a series of pastel florals in similar color schemes. I may have three or four of the same color family with variations in value and placement of the floral elements. I would like to push this even further in the future. Sometimes I take small sections of pastels as a starting point for an acrylic abstract painting. Creating abstract florals helped me to realize how important drawing is to my process. Now I have returned to drawing as a regular practice. Drawing the flower from life brings more life and energy to the subject. It helps me to simplify and be more expressive in my work. I collect drawings in sketchbooks that I later use in my work. Lines often show up in my abstract acrylic paintings as well. Drawing also is a type of meditation for me. It slows me down, helps me see and go inward, brings ideas to the surface and connects me with the subject. I believe the act of drawing also helps in the development of non-objective abstracts.