Verge – Abstract Art – Acrylics on Canvas

Original painting – acrylics and ink on stretched canvas. 26 x 20 x 0.75 in (66 x 51 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

This painting is currently listed on Ebay

©2009 Dosia McKay

Fringes

Original painting: acrylics and ink on paper. 5.75 x 3.75 in (14.5 x 9.5 cm). Buy artwork

©2009 Dosia McKay

Tree of Life

Original painting: acrylics and ink on paper. 5.75 x 3.75 in (14.5 x 9.5 cm). Buy artwork

Has it really been almost a year since I painted? I missed my brushes and my paints. I have been extremely busy writing music and poetry but I plan to devote some time this summer to painting. For now I am only posting couple of postcards I did today. Nothing earth shattering – I am merely warming up and hope to return to large scale canvas soon.

©2009 Dosia McKay

Who is Afraid of Abstract Art?

There is a certain fear associated with abstract art when it comes to public perception and acceptance of the style. There is an understanding that appreciation of abstract paintings is reserved only for the select few; the eccentric “artistic type” who never pays the electric bill on time, the spoiled kid educated in a liberal arts college, or the one whose diet consists of sprouts and exotic teas. The rest of the mortals are destined to enjoying flower bouquets and respectable sunsets over the sofas and dining room tables of their sensible dwellings.

The public demands the familiar and the comprehensible. This is an apple and a lemon in a basket, a tree and a flowing creek. Nothing personal, nothing odd, or thought-provoking–merely a background noise to the visually cluttered world.

But what if a painting could reach inside the viewer and demand a response? What if it trespassed on the imagination and the suppressed emotions?

I recently sold one of my paintings to a collector in Virginia. I rarely know who buys my art. I trustingly release my paintings into the world, hoping that they will find safe havens for themselves. But this time I received a letter from the buyer who felt compelled to describe the impact of the painting he recently purchased.

“I just wanted to drop a line again and let you know how much my patients and I are enjoying your painting. I am a clinical psychologist. Your painting has become a spontaneous marvelous ink blot with people trying to see as many different things as possible in it. I’ve been impressed with the playfulness and creativity. Thank you again for this wonderful addition to my practice. It’s taken on more meaning than a painting on the wall.”

What a wonderful testimony to the power of abstract art. This is precisely where the beauty of abstract art lies. The color, the texture, and the form do not resemble anything the viewers are familiar with, but instead prompt the audience to create a meaning in their imagination. The responses to the same painting will be as varied as the individual internal worlds creating them.

Therefore the question of “understanding” of abstract art is pointless. It is not intellectual or objective. It is purely emotional, subjective, and personal.

Try a simple exercise today. Walk around your home or work place and consciously look at the artwork displayed on your walls. Does it elicit a response from you? Is it positive or negative? What element in it speaks to you the most? Is it the color, the texture, or the form (composition)? Does it stir your imagination? Does it effect your emotions? Why or why not?

©2008 Dosia McKay

Moonrise

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 16 x 20 x 0.75 in (41 x 51 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Cytoplasm 1

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (60 x 91 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Upstairs Downstairs

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 24 x 36 x 0.75 in (60 x 91 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Windswept

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas. 36 x 24 x 0.75 in (91 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

I am taking a break from digital art and exploring possibilities of tangible paint. The creative process is so much more time consuming; mixing paint, application process, waiting for the layers to dry, varnishing. And, did I mention, there is no Undo button? Ah, the risks and gambles of the creative process…

©2008 Dosia McKay

Akathisia

Watercolor, marker and ink on paper. 14.5 x 10.5 in (37 x 27 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Unfurling

This painting was inspired by my poem Unfurling.

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Epiphanies – Artwork and Music Combined

I thought I would experiment with combining my abstract painting with music. The video features 10 of my paintings and the soundtrack is one of my electronic compositions entitled Thousands of Tears.

©2008 Dosia McKay

Sleepless

Possibilities, inevitabilities, liabilities, vulnerabilities – squared, multiplied, permutated.

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2008 Dosia McKay

Surge

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2007 Dosia McKay

To Be and to Hear

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

I am often asked about inspiration for my visual art. This piece was inspired by my earlier blog.

©2007 Dosia McKay

Enchantments

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2007 Dosia McKay

Sanctuary

Digital art – giclee on canvas. 32 x 24 x 0.75 in (81 x 60 x 2 cm). Buy artwork

©2007 Dosia McKay

Shifting Sands

Acrylics, watercolors, and mixed media on watercolor paper. 15 x 11 in (38 x 28 cm).

You might also enjoy reading my poem under the same title.

©2007 Dosia McKay

Submerged

Acrylics, watercolor, and silver marker on watercolor paper 8.5 x 11 in (21 x 28 cm).

©2007 Dosia McKay

The Fountain

Watercolor and silver marker on watercolor paper 9 x 12 in (22 x 30 cm).

©2007 Dosia McKay

And Beyond

©2007 Dosia McKay