Painting Abstract Florals

Painting in an abstract style is a great way to improve when trying to paint in a loose style.

It helps you to let go of perfectionism and is liberating because you aren’t looking to paint anything realistic.

Come join me as I delve into the abstract world of painting flowers in this way.

First of all, I chose to only use black paint. This really helps because having to choose colours that work well together can get complicated, rather, I wanted to strip it back, simply concentrating on technique rather than anything else.

I watered down some basic acrylic black paint, but I also added some black radiant concentrated watercolour by Dr. Ph. Martin’s. This combination made for a lovely creamy consistency. I felt that straight-up acrylic would be too thick and only using watercolour would make it too weak or transparent.

If you look closer you can see the kind of texture that this combination of acrylic paint mixed with watercolour makes.

Ink, Acrylic and a Paintbrush

One way to paint in an abstract style is to look at an image and then interpret a basic shape of it, you can add a few details but nothing too in-depth. You can also exaggerate some of the elements, almost like you would if you were painting a caricature.

For my subject matter, I found a reference image of some hellebores from Putnam & Putnam’s Flower Color Guide which is a great book for examining individual flowers and floral images. I wanted to capture the way that they sit on the page, but again, nothing too detailed. Take a look at the image I used as a reference and see how I interpreted it in the short video below.

Fancy having a go at this project yourself? Here is a supply list of the materials I used:

* All products listed above are linked to my favourite art supplier - Jackson's Art. They carry an excellent range of products and also ship worldwide. If you decide to make a purchase using my affiliate link it will give you 10% off your first order.

HOW TO DO IT?

⟡ Gather your materials and mix your paints so that you have a nice flowy consistency. Try using only one colour to simplify things.

⟡ Find a subject to paint. Take a good look at your reference image. What are the main parts? Which way does it flow? Are there any parts I would like to exaggerate?

⟡ Pick one brush. I like to use a larger one and start almost drawing the image on your paper. Lean on your brush more heavily to get thicker areas or press lighter to get some thin strokes. Try to paint your image in a simple way not worrying too much about the details.

⟡ Remember to breathe, have fun and don’t spend too long on any one piece, before long you will have a beautiful collection of images.