Why I Love Abstract Art Now....

The ‘now’ in this title is important because my love for certain genres of art or subjects has changed over the years. I’ve been putting off writing about this subject because it is a little hard to explain why I have gravitated so much in this direction. If you read this, you may or may not be interested in abstract art, still, I wonder if you have remained consistent in your creative practices and artistic tastes, or have you also gone off on tangents and felt yourself change artistically with time?

I have gradually become more aware and attracted to abstraction. In my childhood and teenage years I was quite susceptible to other people’s tastes and values about what made art ‘good’, I liked pleasing others and got a lot of validation from my traditional drawings, I think to be fair this is pretty common- and I do believe there is nothing wrong in getting a good foundation in traditional drawing skills, the great thing about art in school is hopefully you get introduced to a variety of genres and methods. I did, however, grow up with the impression that abstract art was ‘not proper art’. In some circles, this may still be a criticism; judgments on art are subjective and some of its power lies in the powerful emotions and responses it can evoke. I remember as a young child, listening to a radio show at my grandma’s house and the art critics were discussing how essentially abstract art was childish - easy art. I was also aware my family’s tastes did not run in that direction. However, through visiting art galleries by myself (moving to London for university allowed me to go so much more!) I realised that I often enjoyed the abstracts just as much as the representational paintings. I noticed that an abstract piece of work could, perhaps, evoke more of a feeling, or response in me than, say, a traditional portrait in The National Gallery. The internet certainly opened my eyes to a wealth of artists, that all kinds of people were exploring abstraction at home and in their studios, and I was, to be truthful, a little jealous. I came back to art in my thirties, and the time I had initially was limited as I had 3 young kids at home, and a couple of big moves to different countries to boot. To begin with, I felt guilty enough about spending time on art, so it felt like at least I was putting in some ‘work’ by spending my time on reviving my drawing and painting skills. However, the envy I felt was eye-opening, it made me question why I wasn’t having a go. What was stopping me?- myself essentially. I started by making ‘doddles’ when I was too exhausted to draw after I got the kids to bed. When my youngest stopped napping, I noticed that drawing realistically was becoming a little frustrating, the stopping and starting meant I struggled to fully get into a drawing, but playing around alongside him, doing a little free mark-making and painting was fun and I still felt creative. As we all know, young kids are super inspiring - their openness to drawing whatever and however they want with no judgment, made me reconsider what art processes were bringing me the most joy.

Over time, I started to keep a few cheap sketchbooks for abstract exploration, these early ones I destroyed. They were for practice and I kept all this quiet and very separate from my main art Instagram account. I also started making abstract paintings on canvas, purely because it was what I wanted on my walls, and I could work around family in short bursts of time. I’m not sure when I got the confidence to share it- I had separate abstract accounts on Instagram, which I’d then periodically delete because I felt my work was ‘stupid’ or that I was too divided in my attention and should focus on one thing. So it has been a gradual process, and I have for sure put the time in over recent years. But, it has been worth it- I get a freedom and satisfaction from abstract art that is different to what I experience from my more traditional art. I think it also, in some ways, allows me to express more of myself - but in a safe hidden way. It can be very meditative, it helps still my mind for a bit, once I get in the zone I am less judgemental - I stop the ‘have I drawn that hand right’, ‘that tree looks awful’ ‘what is the point of this’ - Ok so that last one I can still feel, but there is something so freeing in just making for the sake of making something with my hands, no pressure, no lofty ideal, no big goal in mind- I love colour, I don’t have synaesthesia- but I do respond strongly to colours. I love how I can change them up to energise me, to calm me, to express myself with them. Maybe abstraction particularly speaks to me at the moment as I can, at times, feel a little desensitised to image overload, I know I’m not making anything amazingly original, in some ways I remind myself that one of the reasons I like listening to certain Djs and producers is that I prefer their remixing of previous samples, they’ve ended up with something different. I think if I felt the pressure to be ‘original’ I would never make anything.

I have also always appreciated how abstracts are open for the viewers’ interpretation, viewers can project their feelings on them. I still enjoy all sorts of art, art that tells us a story, reflecting our times and concerns, fantasy art, figurative art, etc - but there is a special place in my heart for abstraction and also naive/loose art. Sometimes I simply don’t want to be told what to feel or think - I want to be by myself with a piece of art and just be.

So this is where I am right now- I have discovered a genre of art that has brought me much joy and I think it is also feeding into my other more realistic drawings and paintings. I love creativity- it makes me feel invigorated and more interested in everything around me. It is an escape. Abstract art has allowed me to access that feeling of play, that there are endless possibilities in art, and that is why I love it so -for the moment…. At the end of the day, I probably won’t stick to any one style or genre of art - I think I’ve accepted that and it is just how it goes for me.

As per usual, I have gone on about my personal feelings on art and interests - but maybe you have also been thinking about your life story with art, what you liked in childhood, your teenage years - now? We are aware of trends, that art styles come in and out of vogue, that what we like on an individual level can be in sync or go against the grain, sometimes the challenge lies for some of us to identify what do we actually like? It is always heartening to see that well-known artists don’t stay stagnant either - they made different work at different stages of their life, and a new process (I’m thinking Matisse here) may have been born out of a change in circumstance.

Thank you for reading,

Sonia