© Carolee Clark, “Rising Above,” 10″ x 10″, acrylic
“Rising Above” 
sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
I know that non representational abstract painting makes some people uncomfortable as they feel that they don’t understand it. Perhaps the reason that I enjoy non objective art work is that I don’t try to understand it, but listen to my feelings about it. How does it make me feel? Do I like the colors, the textures, the shapes or the composition? When I look at a painting, I know whether I like it or not immediately. I can study the whys or I can just enjoy the work.
When I switched to acrylic from watercolor I decided to work completely with non objective subject matter. If I was going to learn a new medium, I didn’t want to compare the paintings that I had been making to the new ones.
Believe me, it was very difficult to paint completely abstractly. The compositional qualities that make a good abstract are the same for a painting with an identifiable subject matter. I still wanted to create work that uplifted me and made me happy. I still wanted to have others look at my work and feel the same way.
Every once in a while I yield to the urge to paint without an identifiable subject matter, but I still hope that it creates a positive response in the viewer.
Below is one of my early pieces of completely abstract work that I still enjoy and have hanging in my studio.
© Carolee Clark, “In No Time,” 24″ x 18″, acrylic
