Today we’ll be revisiting the Abstract Expressionist movement. As mentioned in my earlier post, Abstract Expressionism was an important movement for artists exploring their subconscious through abstract work. This movement came out of the 1940s and 1950s focusing on gestural brushstrokes, mark-making, movement, and color. Artists like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock worked to include the viewer into the piece by creating large expanses of color, shape, and movement.

For more information about the Abstract Expressionist movement, check out my other blog post, Inside Abstract Expressionism.

This semester I have been asked to create a painting inspired by this movement for Advanced Painting class at Marywood University. I closely studied Richard Diebenkorn, an American painter known for his participation in the abstract expressionism movement. He’s most known for his Ocean Park series featuring abstract compositions with layered color fields, geometric shapes, visible brushstrokes, and a sense of light and space inspired by the coast of California. He believed that perfection in art is neither attainable nor desirable. It was more important to embrace the imperfection and evolving nature of painting, allowing visible corrections and layers to remain as a part of the final composition. This became my goal and approach for the project.

For my painting, I started by laying down lines and shapes across the canvas, tracing and filling them with color. From the beginning, I kept in mind that the painting would build through layers of color and line, allowing the earlier stages to influence its current form. I wanted the style to reflect my personality, so I took a bold approach, using vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows, occasionally adding their cool complements to create a dynamic visual contrast. The piece remains a work in progress, evolving each day as new layers and adjustments shape its direction.