What You May Not Know About Abstract Oil Paintings

A Brief History of the Development of Abstract Painting

Some say that the beginning of abstract art was an accident, but was it? There is also evidence that art was slowly transitioning toward the abstract. Here is both sides of the story.

I heard a story once that abstract painting was started by accident. The story goes that Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist at the turn of the 20th century, walked into his studio one day at twilight and saw a painting he was working on in a new perspective. The lighting at this time of day, combined with his angle of approach, made his painting appear as an arrangement of colorful patches that he thought was striking and beautiful. This made him realize that color alone could evoke emotions, the specific content was not necessary. Some say this was the beginning of abstract art, and maybe it was of true, non-representational abstract painting, but there were many things in the art world that were leading that way already.

The transition from representational art (specific, recognizable objects), to abstract art happened slowly. And some artists who were definitely not abstract artists played a role in that transition. The first use and meaning of abstract painting was different than today. Original abstract art portrayed objects that had been taken (abstracted) from nature. The painting did not look totally realistic, you could easily tell the subject of the painting, but it wasn't a direct representation of the subject either.

Some of the first artists to paint in this form are recognizable to almost all, and they would be the Impressionists (originating in 1860) like Monet, Renoir and Cezanne. These artists were especially interested in capturing their sensory impressions using light, color and movement. They liked to paint outdoors and capture the changing light. The Impressionists used lighter and brighter colors than tradition, and the colors were more distinct, with less blending to even out the shades. This form, along with playing with light and movement, led Impressionists away from traditional perspectives.

Soon after the Impressionist movement came the Neo-Impressionists who were influenced by the Impressionist. But instead of being concerned about the light, color and movement, they were more interested in the technical aspects of design and color, and the preparation and planning of the canvas. The strongest characteristic of Neo-Impressionism is the sense of stillness. There were different techniques used by New-Impressionists, but one popular form was Pointillism, where the picture is painted using tiny dots of color on the canvas. The stillness evoked in these paintings, and the lack of precise details, give them the leanings towards abstractionism.

After experimenting with light for 20 years, some of the artists got bored and moved on to Post-Impressionism. Some well-known Post-Impressionists include Van Gough and Gauguin. A distinct characteristic of Post-Impressionism, which is central to an abstract painting, is that the artists were focused more upon evoking feeling and emotions than portraying an image. Though the subject of these paintings are still recognizable, many take on definite abstract attributes.

This subtle shift in the purpose of painting freed many artists to explore further possibilities, and it was only a short time later that Kandinsky began painting what is considered the first abstract painting. Kandisky was a very influential artists, the ideas behind abstract art began to spread quickly and many abstract movements soon followed.

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TShirt Art

This morning I was cutting up t shirts to be used when I paint (oils on canvas)  Some painters used paper towels, but that can leave a little debris on the canvas. These t shirts belonged to my father. I saved all his t shirts after he passed away. Today I cut up the last one, very sad indeed.

My Father is the reason I started painting as a portrait artist in the first place.  I took him to his art classes every week as he could no longer drive. He so enjoyed those classes, the teacher, the other students (he was the only male in the class)  I wanted to try my brush at painting as well, but he would not have it. I worked as his “assistant” so to speak for a couple of years, mostly mixing his paints, preparing the canvas, doing the difficult bits.   As his health started to fade, I found myself helping out more and more. At a certain point he insisted that I put my signature below his. Toward the end he was falling asleep in the chair, brush in hand. When he woke up he would shove the brush towards me and say, “here, you do it!”

This is how my painting life began. I suppose I have my father to thank for my path that lead to painting portraits. It was comforting to know I had a little piece of father with me when I was painting, sentimental that.  From now on I will buy my used, white t shirts at the thrift store.  Oh dear.

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How to Move Horse Manure

As a portrait artist, I save memories.

My friend Val, I knew when I lived in England recently sent me a birthday letter. She currently lives in Ireland. I lived on the Essex Coast for eight years. My ancestors “Duffield” are from Hilgay, Norfolk, UK just an hour or so north of where I lived. They were mostly farmers and lived in this lovely market town / village.

“A couple of days ago I set off with my daughter Mandy in her smart car to pick up some horse manure for the garden.  We  managed to lift two sacks in the back and rushed back to mine to off load and disinfect  her car. I don’t think she will be up for doing this again!! The bag of horse manure had come from a company producing bird feed, etc called W.L. Duffield & Sons, Norfolk. I planned to send you the label, but it was rather smelly”

http://www.duffields.co.uk/

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Who is John Cabore?

I moved to New York City in 1967 to throw myself into my show business career working as a Commercial Model, TV & film Actress, night club singer and college student. John Cabore was my next door neighbor in a hotel where I was living in at the time. When I looked through his portfolio I could see that I was in the company of a great artist. His paints had long dried up as he had not touched them in more than six years. He had become despondent over the death of his wife and he had chosen to disappear from life altogether.

I helped him create an atmosphere were he could start painting again. I purchased supplies and modeled for him. I also monitored his diet and life style choices – making certain he was strong enough to paint again. We became close friends; he was a father figure/ teacher to me. He was able to create a huge, new body of work during the next ten years.

During his final years, he was aware of his approaching death. John gave me the remainder of his work, documents, newspaper articles and portfolio. John Cabore left behind a huge body of work. There are 70 paintings, and drawings and many photographs. His work was well accepted during his career-he enjoyed great success. Having a large body of his work in one collection is a great asset for the legacy of this artist. I have no idea the value of this art.

Here is a quick overview about what I learned about John Cabore: Fashion Artist/ Illustrator/ Portrait Artist/ Educator Born 6 May 1914 Larksville, PA Died New York City 1980

During WW II 1941 -1945 John was in the military- Mac Dill Army Base in Florida He worked as a writer, artist for AP, UP, INS. He also worked in the Intelligence and would pose as an artist making portraits of many generals. He painted huge murals for the officers’ clubs.

John was a prominent fashion artist and commercial illustrator in NYC during the 40’s – 60’s. His client list include most of the city’s high-end department stores-Saks, Goodman’s, Bonwit Teller, etc. and a list of the elite art collectors. He also illustrated products for magazines and anatomy for textbooks.

He was one of the founders of the School of Visual Arts and taught there for years. The School was founded in 1947 with Silas Rhodes and Burne Hogarth (the Tarzan illustrator) -starting with 3 instructors and 35 students. The School of Visual Arts has turned into a multi-disciplinary institution with a faculty of 800 and a student body of 3,000. Many of John Cabore’s former students are teaching or Department Heads at the school and some are well known, working artists – for example Kenneth Francis Dewey.

 During his successful working years, John had many drinking buddies, including Jackson Pollack (the father of Abstract Expressionism), Howard Purcell and Andrew Palencar…Howard Purcell was a well known illustrator for the Comic book giant DC. He did the first “Green Lantern” cover in 1940 for them…also “Mr. District Attorney”; “House of Mystery”; “Gangbusters”; Unexpected”; “Sea Devils” In Howard Purcell’s own words ~John was, “one of the Best God Damn Artists he had ever run into”

Andy Palencar remembered the paintings from his days in N.Y.C. after WWII when he was attending Pratt .He had gone over to the Art Students League to study and John Cabore’s Portrait was on display as an example of Excellent Portrait Painting Andy describes John Cabore “One of the greatest Living Artists…”

 During the 50’s and 60’s John Cabore had become a household word in the art community. He and his wife, Kay Silver, a well known stage actress who performed with Sophie Tucker, lived on Fifth Avenue in NYC. They worked and socialized with the glamorous celebrities from the art and show business world of their era. During this time his works were selling at the high end.

However, his enormous success and money could not buy a cure for his beloved wife. When Kay Silver died of cancer, John Cabore disappeared for six or seven years, producing no work – even his students could not locate him.