The outcome of an abstract design in a sketchbook

I've sometimes read that some people seem to think that abstracts are easy, just splashing paint on and viola it's finished. Maybe that's the case for some but I find them challenging at times. Fortunately I'm not alone in this as other artists have expressed their difficulty also. For me doing a good abstract sometimes requires more to function properly as a good piece of work. Experimenting in a sketchbook or on a piece of paper can be invaluable.

This painting would not have emerged if I hadn't done the initial sketch.

The original sketch below in A5 has its own charm but I've used very different mediums. The above completed work is painted in oils, whereas the sketch is in mixed media using watercolour, gesso, pencil, charcoal and soft pastels. I like them both but I'm happy that I chose to do the finished piece in oils. I've taken those aspects of the sketch I liked that could be worked in oils and not been a slave of some of the details in the sketch. The end result is a painting that has a different feel to it, the less fussy expression gives a more pure feeling than the sketch in my opinion. Some maybe would have done further sketches on the subject before starting on the finished piece but I chose not to. I actually was getting out of an artist block at the time of the finished painting so having this sketch was a great help.

I've done other work that has started in the development stages of sketches but admittedly also worked on the painting or drawing until it functioned as a finished piece. These are two very different ways of creating.

Which one do you like to use?

Thanks for your response :)

#Sketchbook #Painting