The Journal
Journal — Abstract Art & Painting Insights
Essays on abstract painting, technique and the artist's practice — new articles regularly.
Articles 22–28 of 47
Page 4 of 7
Composition in Abstract Painting: Balance, Rhythm, Focal Point and Negative Space
Standing in front of an abstract painting, the eye often looks for a subject before it looks for anything to hold onto. Yet it's composition — how shapes, masses and empty space are arranged on the canvas — that decides whether a work holds together, long before colour enters the picture. From Kandinsky to Latin American Concrete art, the artist breaks down what makes an abstract composition work: balance of mass, rhythm, focal point and negative space.
Should You Varnish an Abstract Acrylic Painting?
Should you varnish an abstract acrylic painting, and with what type of varnish? Between protecting colour, an aesthetic choice, and precautions specific to palette-knife relief, the artist shares her studio method.
How Much Does an Original Abstract Painting Cost?
"How much is this one?" It's one of the first three questions I get asked at almost every exhibition, right after the title and the technique. Size, technique, hours of work, buying direct instead of through a gallery: here's an honest look at how I actually price an original abstract painting.
Colour Psychology in Abstract Painting: Choosing the Right Mood for Each Room
Before you even try to read an abstract composition, its colour speaks first and sets a mood. From Goethe to Kandinsky, by way of my own canvases, a look at colour psychology to help choose an abstract painting for the room and effect you want.
Preparing an Exhibition Hang: How I Choose, Arrange and Light My Paintings
Before an opening, you have to decide which paintings travel, in what order they speak to each other, and how to make them work in a space you never fully control. Between grain halls, a château and a motorcycle museum, the artist explains how she actually prepares an exhibition hang — choosing the works, arranging the space and working with the light — drawing on her nine exhibitions across France, Spain and Andorra.
Geometric Abstraction vs Minimalism: What's the Real Difference?
Clean lines, simple shapes, an embrace of geometry: geometric abstraction and minimalism share a visual vocabulary close enough to be routinely mixed up. Yet one builds with colour and material, the other strips everything back to the bare object. A geometric painter trained in Latin America explains what actually separates these two aesthetics — and why her own work sits firmly on the side of colour.
What Happens at an Art Exhibition Opening (Vernissage): A First-Timer's Guide
Smart-casual or black tie? Are you expected to buy something on the night? A painter who has exhibited across France, Spain and Andorra since 2021 demystifies the opening night — the social, informal evening that comes before the quieter days of an exhibition.