- An extremely detailed, informative guide to how to produce
abstract paintings, without any step-by-step instruction, therefor
encouraging creativity and self-expression.
- includes numerous examples of various artists' work.
- provides an in-depth analy
Rolina van Vliet has studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Groningen, the teacher training department of Amsterdam College, and the fine arts department at the Free Academy in The Hague. She now teaches at various centres for artistic training, and has developed a new method of painting based on abstract painting. Her work varies from abstract expressionism to lyrical abstract painting, with the emphasis on spontaneity and dynamics, and with a clear preference for total abstraction. She regularly exhibits her work, has written articles for art magazines and runs workshops and courses on abstract art.
July 09 Rolina van Vliet has produced an excellent book on how to
analyse the abstract method and ways to produce lively and
effective abstract art. Many people feel that abstract art is
simply unstructured and free flowing but Rolina shows that in fact
there are some very in depth thought processes in its creation.
Rolina begins by welcoming the reader to a world of free expression
and says that by following this route ones artistic expressions
will be given the scope they need to create spontaneous lively
works that emanate from within oneself. This book has developed to
show the artist how to familiarise themselves with abstract
painting an easy to understand way and that will subsequently point
the way to the great adventure of creating one's own expressive,
original and creative works. Rolina describes this book as being an
answer to some of the students questions such as “what is abstract
?” “where do I begin ?” The text in her book gives information
about the background, goal and procedure of the abstract method,
and how to use these to develop the focus of your own talents in
these areas. These are accompanied by illustrations that clarify
the content of the methods described. The text next to the
illustrations gives extra information such as technique,
composition and construction of the works. These help put into
context the application of methods to the individual artworks.
There are useful study exercises and tips for the student to work
from to help focus on the bringing out the creativity from within.
In most art books there are step by step demonstrations but in
abstract art the focus is on bringing out the artwork form within
the individual. Rolina's study tips help one begin the journey
towards achieving this goal. The study tips are arranged as
assignments but deliberately not in the form of step by step
examples. Rolina says this type of procedure is a direct opposition
of the abstract method, and that focus is own one's own efforts and
talent and that the student must avoid copying to any extent at
all. The illustrations accompanying the assignments are there
purely to give impetus to one's own artistic aspirations. Rolina
shows the student via this book how to practise artistic and
expressive skills, something essential to the art of abstract
painting. The emphasis is on bringing out expression from within
oneself. When one paints reality the external information is there
as a guide, whereas abstract comes completely from within oneself
and we need to learn methods to make the appropriate choices of
shape, colour, texture and composition. As there is a lack of
external guidance we need to learn how to make these choices in
order to form a pleasing artwork. The study tips are directed at
helping us to achieve this, and to learn to direct our creative
thinking into an artwork with focus, direction and restraint. This
book is full of beautiful illustrations and excellent tips to
enable us to compose thought provoking and evocative abstract
paintings. It shows how we can use a variety of media in our
journey and how to give rein, direction and control to our free
thinking. It's a fascinating book for everybody, whether they are
just starting in abstract, artists wishing to obtain more freedom
in their works or simply people interested in learning more about
abstract art. A fabulous and unusual treat.
*JeannieZelos.com*
July 09 This is Rolina Van Vliet’s second book and pretty much
picks up where Painting Abstracts left off. The subtitle, A Guide
to Creativity and Free Expression slightly begs a question, but
emphasises that this is very much a series about the creative
aspects of abstract painting rather than the practical matter of
getting paint onto paper or canvas. This, it seems to me, is a very
reasonable approach and it’s unlikely that you’re going to tackle
the non-representational route if you’re not reasonably comfortable
with your materials. Indeed, it’s probably not to be recommended at
all. The matter of begging the question is simply, can you teach
creativity? On balance, I’d have to give that a qualified yes.
Abstraction is very much about ways of seeing and it’s really not
unreasonable to say that you can introduce the ideas of a different
vision just as you can explain that, in a straightforward
landscape, you need to decide which elements of the picture you’re
going to concentrate on, which are going to be just suggested and
which you’ll probably leave out altogether. In a word: composition.
All painting could be said to be chiefly about shapes, colour and
balance and the basic principle of abstraction is that this is all
you give yourself to work with: the normal points of relativity,
the recognisable forms, are removed so that the viewer can only
work with what you give them. As such, they have to find your point
of view and abandon their own and it’s this, as much as anything
else, that makes abstract art “difficult” and frequently
uncomfortable. Working backwards from a wide variety of finished
paintings, Rolina takes you through the techniques that are
available, from visual cues to colour, texture and composition,
giving a very practical approach to what is, well, an abstract
subject.
*Artbookreview.net*
Nov 09 Abstract painting is unlike any other kind, and needs a
special approach. The subtitle of this primer is "A Guide To
Creativity and Free Expression" and aims to get to the root of why
you have chosen abstract over figurative painting, and what you
want to get out of it. As someone who enjoys fabric painting I was
interested in a book like this, which offers the scope to escape,
through decorating my cloth with more abstract designs. This is not
a book on fabric painting I hasten to add, but there is no reason
why the ideas in here cannot be used in other media. It gets you
thinking about what you want to achieve, and starts off by getting
the reader to ask themselves various questions, a method that many
books on other painting styles might do well to also start with!
This is a book about searching for freedom, and encourages the
reader to play with styles and techniques, continually asking
yourself questions about what your painting represents and means to
you. What do other people get out of looking at your work or other
abstract paintings? What do certain shapes and forms imply? As with
any other style of painting you need to learn something of color
theory, also texture, balance, use of space, etc. To facilitate all
this there are a number of exercises to try out, and all in all, I
found it a stimulating way of working that was likely to come up
with some pleasing work. If you are an artist of any level wanting
to try out abstract painting this is a good place to start.
*Myshelf.com*
Feb 11 As the author of several books on abstract painting, Rolina
Van Vliet has become a clear voice on a tricky subject. Rather than
attempting to give step-by-step instructions here, she instead
offers tips on developing ideas.
*Artists & Illustrators, The*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |