Creating abstract art might look simple to some, but there is a lot to consider to making great abstract painting ideas.
There are a lot of ways that people look at abstract art and define it. To make it simple, everything is an abstract that is not reality. The art that conflicts with reality or the theme of reality can be classified as an abstract art piece.
A lot of people have the misconception that abstract art is nothing but a couple of random shapes. This is why they think it is easy and not as hard as painting portraits. While abstract art does contradict with reality, it still has some meaning. It implements certain textures and designs on intention and is trying to tell us a story.
Your art needs to come from you and not from anyone else. Many people try to look up some tutorials that will help them create art, but that just kills their creativity, and they try more to be like them. It is okay to look up some inspiration for your work, but if you find yourself copying someone else’s designs, it is time you change the ways you do things.
Here is a guide to creating amazing abstract painting ideas:
Acrylic pouring
When you are going for something creative, new, and abstract, acrylic pouring will always be there for you. It is a practice of pouring the paint on a canvas, paper, or any other surface that you want and creating art with it.
You can mix several paints in one paint using a pouring medium, or you can pour all the colors separately and make the flow once they are on your canvas. You can get creative with the different colors and try to make art or just let them flow to create a pattern.
DIY instructions to create an abstract painting with acrylic pouring: Home Body Hall
Geometric print
One of the good ways of making abstract art is by creating geometric prints. You can use different colors, preferably the ones that go together and create a print.
It can be as easy as just 3 shapes on the paint, or you can create a self-portrait using geometric patterns as Picasso did. You just have to make sure that the art does not represent anything real or live to make it an abstract painting.
DIY instructions to create a geometric abstract painting: This is Our Bliss
Implementing bright colors
If you are feeling positive, full of energy, light, and hope, then there is nothing better to show it than using bright colors. Bright colors like cyan, pink, yellow, lime, etc. represent good feelings and happy vibes.
Using them to create abstract art will help you represent your feelings. Balance the colors out evenly and make a pattern with them instead of just throwing them on the paper. You want your end results to be a professional painting instead of a child playing with colors.
DIY instructions to paint an abstract painting with bright colors: Fall for DIY
Pair of abstract paintings
If you are trying to decorate your house and bring in some energy, this is a great idea. Instead of creating just one painting, you need to create two that look almost like each other.
It is not important to make them look identical, but you need to have some similarities. For example, using the same colors and making the shapes or patterns be a little similar. You can try giving one of the outlines of your painting with one color and make that color fill in the other.
Show your creativity, and you can then hang them around other arts or anything else. Around your dressing table or your family photos on the walls.
It is sometimes ideal to use just one color, but in other cases, you can use as many colors as you want and show some creativity.
DIY instructions to create a pair of abstract paintings: Instructables
Abstract painting with simple brush strokes
Your paintings don’t need to have a pattern or a design, and they can just be color strokes on paper. But by using the right colors, you can add meaning and value to them as well. There are a lot of color patterns that you need to learn about that.
Try painting on a piece of paper with paints before you start working on your canvas. Make the strokes and see the color combinations and what kind of energy you want your painting to have. The light colors will represent the positivity, and using them all together is a good idea, but brushing in one or two dark colors will make those colors look more popped up.
You can study the colors and how well they blend with each other, or you can try looking up someone else’s work for inspiration. As mentioned before, only try to look up the abstract painting ideas but don’t copy them. Always bring originality to your work.
DIY Instructions to paint an abstract idea with simple strokes: Sarah Hearts
Abstract painting with texture
Adding textures to your paintings can add incredible depth to it. You don’t have to spend a lot of time adding textures, either. You can create an impasto painting effect in less than 30 minutes.
Another great thing about this is that you can use different textures. After painting an abstract painting with a texture, you can be incredibly energized to think of different textures to buy at your favorite craft store and use in your painting.
Even if you paint the same idea, when you use different textures it will help you create abstract paintings with a different vibe.
DIY instructions to paint an abstract painting with a texture: Lolly Jane
Abstract painting with a color dropper
We all know what flowers look like, with a center and all the petals around it, but you can design your flowers the way you want in abstract art. You can make one of the petals too long and the rest short. You can try making the petals out of other faces, shapes, or anything that you like.
Draw a branch and a lot of different kinds of flowers blooming out of it. You can try making the flowers with little strokes of paint using a brush, a cotton bud, cotton, tissue paper, or anything else you like.
DIY instructions to paint an abstract painting with a color dropper: By Dawn Nicole
Backgrounds
One of the biggest uses of abstract art is the backgrounds. You can mix many watercolors together on the canvas and blend them properly to make a smooth background. Make patterns of straight lines of colors instead of filling out the whole canvas and leave out white blanks in between.
Stick a tape on the surface and throw some paints; after the paints have dried out, remove the tape, and enjoy the abstract art that you have just created. Remember to blend the colors in if you are making a gradient.
DIY instructions to create abstract backgrounds: Kwerner Design
Examples of Good Abstract Painting Ideas
There are a lot of different artists who have painted popular abstract paintings. As mentioned above, Picasso painted himself at the age of 90 in a purely abstract form and presented himself in front of the world as of how he thought of himself.
Art is a way of expressing yourself, and with paints, you do everything from your heart and try to express yourself with every stroke. Bob Ross adopted a form and a different kind of painting to express himself. He tried to bring positivity into his life and the life of others by creating new paintings and providing a description of it.
On the other hand, Justin Nuyda mostly introduced rage, fear, and anger in his paintings. They were both artists, they both made their name in life, but they had different ways of expressing themselves and came out as unique individuals.
If you are looking to earn a name and reputation in the fields of abstract art, the best ideas for you will come from within you. Try to see what drives you and what makes you happy. What you most feel like, and how would you like people to see you.
You can try masking yourself and your paintings by following someone else, but it will not drive you. Instead of enjoying the painting, you will feel like you are working most of the time.
The different things that mostly drive people are:
- Love
- Nature
- Rage
- Anger
- Peace
- Creativity
- Fear
Etc.
It is not important that your inspiration would come from one of these. You can look for them on the internet, in the things around you, in people around you, and in society.
Your inspiration for artwork can come from a mug with two to three shades or from the falling apart society and capitalism.
How to Get Ideas for an Abstract Painting
If you are not sure what kind of paintings you should create and even after brainstorming for hours, you are still staring blank on the canvas; then, it is time to get some help from outside. There is inspiration all around you, and you just have to look and figure out what it is.
Here are some of the options you can go through to get an idea and inspiration for your artworks.
Search online
Do an online search and try to figure out what you are trying to create. Look up some paintings that you think will fit perfectly according to your theme or what you have in mind.
Before you make the first stroke on the canvas, make sure you know what you will make and don’t change the design in between.
Follow artists
It is a problem for a lot of people to come up with ideas often. They have a stack of canvases blank laying in their storage and nothing in their mind to draw. The canvases can be filled through the inspiration that comes from the normal paintings or the pictures, music, videos, or anything else.
Try to follow some artists on social media accounts and make sure you stay up to date with them. Instead of just looking at the memes, get creative on Instagram and Facebook. Listen to the music that triggers feelings in you and intrigues you.
Society
Society has been an inspiration for many artists and the problems faced by them. There have been different kinds of problems in society in every era, different sets of people, but they were almost always related.
The artists try to depict them through the paints, colors, and patterns in the abstract arts. As confusing the problems and abstract they sound, the more they will inspire you.
What are the Qualities of Abstract Idea
Abstract art is different from every other kind of art. Every other kind of art attempts perfection, but abstract art is about completion but, yet imperfection. The different qualities that every abstract idea has been:
It is random
There is nothing planned in abstract art. The paintbrush guides you where to go and how to draw. It is not perfect, but it delivers a completely random story.
Looking at Picasso’s self-portrait, we see a few figures and shapes, but when you look closely, you can see his whole life-changing emotions, feelings, society’s impact on him, etc.
It represents through colors and patterns
Instead of representing something through shapes, you make use of colors and patterns. Using different patterns, lines, and everything abstract, you add meaning to your canvas.
It is inspired
All kinds of abstract arts are inspired. As I have discussed earlier, the inspiration can come from anything and from anywhere. It can also revolve around your favorite childhood cartoon. For example, Tom and Jerry were two famous characters on Cartoon Network for decades. Their relationship can be depicted using their skin color and mixing them together.
Conclusion
There are different ways to create an abstract painting, and there are different ideas that you can follow. It is preferred to come up with your original ideas in every painting that you are creating.
You can use any kind of paints you want, acrylic paint, watercolors, markers with rubbing alcohol, or anything else that comes to mind.
You can keep adding details to your paintings to make them look more intriguing and innovative. Whether it is a cloud of colors bursting with positive feelings or just random angry strokes on the paper, they will all get meaning when you start giving them.
Keep searching for inspiration, and keep practicing different shapes and designs to perfect your abstract arts. Soon, the ideas will start coming to you without you having to think a lot about it.