Description
Non-Representational Abstract Painting ~ We’ve Only Just Begun
We’ve Only Just Begun is a 20×16″ non-representational abstract painting on canvas panel created during my Artist in Residency program at The Art Center in Dover, New Hampshire.
This painting belongs to the residency body of work Attending To Light, where I explored light as something interior ~ something that gathers and emerges through color, mark, and form.
The painting developed through intuitive discovery through layering, including painted tissue papers created during the studies phase of the residency. These fragments are layered into the surface which results in a painting that carries both memory and process.
Non-Representational Abstract Painting is lifting and expanding
In this non-representational abstract painting, color gathers into a sweeping diagonal structure that moves across a quiet atmospheric field. The surrounding space remains soft and open, which allows the central passage of color to feel as if it is lifting and expanding.
Deep blues, violets, greens, and magentas accumulate through layered marks and collage. Flashes of vibrant yellow-green appear like sparks within the surface to create moments of energy and discovery.
As light moves across the surface, bits of copper paint flash subtly and cause the painting to respond throughout the day.
The surface never appears static; it changes gently as the viewer moves and as natural light enters the room.
Layered Mixed Media Surface and Contemporary Abstraction
This painting combines mixed media, collage, and layered mark-making to create a richly textured surface. Scraped passages reveal earlier layers, while thicker areas of paint gather into dense clusters of color.
The composition remains balanced and open with a large pale green field that provides space for the eye to rest, and allows the concentrated color passages to feel luminous rather than heavy.
As a result, the painting holds a sense of beginning ~ a moment when energy gathers and something new begins to take shape.
This feeling of emergence is echoed in the title We’ve Only Just Begun.
Painting Details
Title: We’ve Only Just Begun
Series: Residency, Attending To Light
Medium: Acrylic mixed media with painted tissue collage
Substrate: Canvas panel
Size: 20 × 16 inches
