Abstract Amorphic 01: Exploring a series of digital paintings inspired by Miró’s iconic shapes

Exploring amorphic shapes

I have always loved the abstract shapes of Joan Miró’s work and for this series I thought it would be interesting to use similar shapes. My goal was to explore how I could create movement in a variety of different compositions with a limited number of elements. Overall I am really happy with the results.

Joseph Kiely modern art painting on grey — Abstract Amorphic #6A

The preliminary sketches

I started out by doing a series of drawings in my sketch book with a cup of coffee and no distractions. The biggest challenge was knowing when to stop adding to the compositions. As soon as I placed too many conflicting forms the flow of the composition fell apart.

Additionally I forced myself to use only black ink limiting the amount of detail and complexity I could render. Even with this, I could not resist creating different textures through dots, lines and scribbles.

Joseph Kiely Abstract Design Sketches with irregular shapes

The Abstract Amorphic Series

I did a series of seven paintings or designs in total – some more successful than others. Each art piece progressed in technique, composition, color and complexity. I was most interested in iterating and not judging the process in-order to discover surprising new ways of combining the elements.

Joseph Kiely Minimalist design — Abstract Amorphic #1

Joseph Kiely modern painting with teal, beige and grey — Abstract Amorphic #1

The techniques

I used a new app called Adobe Fresco for this exploration – I wanted to see how I could mix digital with water and oil based styles. The beauty with the app is it allows me to adjust, re-work, undo and explore a wide variety of organic options.

Joseph Kiely abstract art with rounded design shapes using teal and light beige colors — Abstract Amorphic #4

Joseph Kiely abstract painting with the adobe fresco app — Abstract Amorphic #5

Composition and orientation

My original sketches for the Abstract Amorphic Series played with different sizes and orientations. As I settled on my style I started looking at different horizontal and vertical compositions for the paintings.

Joseph Kiely abstract art on white — Abstract Amorphic #6B

Joseph Kiely Modern art painting with abstract shapes and lines — Abstract Amorphic #7A

Joseph Kiely abstract art with gold and black design — Abstract Amorphic #7A

My thoughts on doing the abstract series

CoNCLUSION

Overall I enjoyed the process of creating designs without boundaries – this is the beauty of fine art. I did find myself struggling to use just the right amount of shapes with out over complicating the paintings. It is a constant challenge to find just the right balance and something I admire and wrote about in my post on Campano’s minimalist paintings.