Glenn Hirsch, Instructor www.glennhirsch.com

1. THE CRAFT OF
ABSTRACTION
AND THE ABSTRACT POWER OF
REALISM
Glenn Hirsch, Instructor
Tue 6-8pm
March 20 - April 24
March 20 Abstraction & Realism I
March 27 Abstraction & Realism II
April 3 Mixed Media Collage I
April 10 Mixed Media Collage II
April 17 Assemblage & Found Objects
April 24 Crit

2. The current AAM exhibit ‘Crafting Abstract’ explores ‘abstraction’ and ‘craft’.
Our class will explore ‘abstraction’ and referential images (realism).
Sue Ferguson
Bessie Harvey
Asheville
Museum
Collection

3. ‘Real’ and
‘Abstract’
are
relative
Robert
Marosi
series,
acrylic

4. Jennifer
Thomas

5. Genna
Stokes

6. Zelda Fitzgerald
Hirsch (demo)

7. Take nature out of context, enlarge something small, let it flow
John Singer Sargent

8. How to get ideas for abstraction?
• Use photos as a reference
• Take nature out of context
• Turn things upside down
• Use pattern
• Take a tiny portion of something and blow it up
• Start with blind contour drawing (draw something without looking at your
paper)
• Let the process to it
• Let it flow (use acrylic as if it’s ‘watercolor’)
• Layer and scrape
• Tear shapes
• Let accidents happen
• Don’t edit until you’re near finished

9. How will we talk about ‘abstraction?”
Variety and Contrast
Variety of sensuous pleasures
• Variety of color (subtle varieties of the ‘same color’)
• Variety of light and dark (to create a feeling of ‘light’)
• Variety of brush (wet-in-wet, wet-over-dry, large (user your arm), small
(use your fingers), scumbling, feathering, twirling, scratching
• Variety of line (large, small, fast, slow, thick, thin)

10. Variety of brush
• wet-in-wet
• wet-over-dry
• large (user your arm)
• small (use your fingers)
• Scumbling
• Feathering
• Twirling
• Scratching

11. Pattern
(repetition)
and
shape
(large vs small)
add
• rhythm
• power
• vitality
Charlotte Bell

12. Glowing ‘light’ conveys
mystery
Emily Shields

13. Suggested supplies
Best local art store:
Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff
829 Riverside Drive, Asheville
828-232-8391

14. Acrylic paint
a "warm yellow" Cadmium Yellow Medium
a "cool yellow" Cadmium Yellow Light or Pale or Lemon
a "warm red" Cadmium Red Medium or Light
a "cool red" Quinacradone Crimson or Alizarin Crimson (*)
a "warm blue" Ultramarine Blue
a "cool blue" Cobalt Blue or Cerulean Blue or Turquoise Blue
a "warm green" Sap Green or Chromium Oxide Green
a "cool green" Pthalocyanine Green or Viridian (*)
a "warm brown" Burnt Sienna or burnt umber
2 "cool browns" Raw Sienna AND Raw umber
A black any kind of mix your own Alizarin Crimson + Pthalo Green
a white any kind or a small bottle of liquid acrylic gesso

15. Square “flat” nylon
brush (watercolor
short handle or acrylic
long handle)
2” and 1” size
‘Script” or ‘Rigger’
nylon watercolor brush
small and medium size
‘Sumi’ brush bamboo
handle (nice bushy
size)
Palette knife (metal or
plastic, any size)

16. Pad of cheapest watercolor
paper BUT the paper must be
at least ‘140 lb” thick
• Roll of paper
towels!!
• Paper plates
(large dinner
size)
• Spray bottle
• Plastic Saran
Wrap or
Handiwrap

17. What else?
Any other colors, drawing
tools or supports to work
on?
Anything you want!

18. How do you paint?
What’s the procedure?

19. Painting is done in LAYERS
Let each layer DRY before you go to the next
Georgia O’Keefe, watercolor
Grove Robinson Branch (Asheville Art Museum
collection), acrylic

20. Vincent Van Gogh oil Emile Nolde watercolor
Opaque technique vs. Transparent

21. Paul Wonner,
acrylic

22. What we’re doing tonight
Using the acrylic paint as if it’s watercolor
Playing with the brushes
Learning to let a layer dry before you paint on top

23. Mark Rothko
Helen Frankenthaler

24. Jennifer
Thomas

25. Melba
Cantu
Cool trick!
Create a shape by
painting the
background
around it

26. Working
from a
photo
Just use it
for
inspiration
and to get
you
started
no need to
follow it

27. Jennifer
Thomas
If you want to
use your
abstraction as a
background and
then draw
something “real”
…
GO FOR IT