Kara Ruth Snyder Talks about Two New Abstract Paintings

by Kara Ruth Snyder in Acrylic Painting Techniques
     

“Chicken” – A New Abstract Painting
Kara Ruth Snyder, "Chicken", acrylic on canvas, March 2011

I had so much fun creating this painting!  First of all, I love working with this larger size (this one is 40 x 40″).  Because of my vision impairment I have absolutely no peripheral vision, thus when faced with a canvas of that size I literally see only white.  I then begin flinging paint!
 
How I start usually is by covering the canvas with a wash of some kind.  This time I used a raw sienna and water as a uneven wash over the entire surface including edges.   I then went in with various blocks of cool and warm colors (which looked beautiful against the raw sienna backfroundm by the way).  I played around with the colored-block-thing for quite awhile before I reached a happy balance in my mind.  I went back and forth with adding some darker colors such as ultramarine blue and carbon black and had fun with “drawing” some goofy shapes that randomly came ro mind, such as that blob-looking thing near the bottom and  that other shape which to me looks like a headless chicken!
 
 I submitted this painting yesterday for a juried show coming up on April 8th.  It is called Halo and is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Society of Artists.  The exhibit will take place at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
 

“Agni” – an abstract painting inspired by the Vedic god of fire! 

 
Kara Ruth Snyder, "Agni", acrylic and pumice on canvas, March 2011. This piece was also extremely fun to create.  I treated the canvas in a loose and free style…it is an action painting if you will.  I alternated lights and darks, warm and cool colors, and soft and hard shapes.  I used bright florescent orange and titanium white to add boldness and energy to the composition.
 
In doing this painting, as in all of my abstract work, I strive to tap into my internal sense of “what is” and then express -in paint- my experiences.  After completing this painting I could only think of energy or fire, so I thought the title of “Agni” was quite fitting…seeing that he was the Vedic god of fire!  
 
 “Agni” was also submitted to Halo,  the same show as described above. 
 
Please feel free to comment if you wish!
 
-Kara 

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