Contemporary Abstract Acrylic Textured Painting by Brad Rickerby

Active

8" x 8" x 1.5"

 Abstract Acrylic on Canvas

$47.00 (with 10% donated to charity)

Painting by Brad Rickerby

There is a lot of energy in this painting. Probably because I spent so much energy throwing paint on to the canvas. I used the same technique here as I did for the others in this series of paintings. The background for this painting is Ultramarine Blue mixed with the slightest dab of Titanium White. The next layer of paints were reds, mostly cadmiums. I then tried to cover the red layer with multiple colors, basically anything that seemed right at the moment. A large percentage of the yellows I used were mixed with Titanium White. The ratio is a lot of white to a touch of yellow. I know that is very exact, but I just keep mixing colors until I have what I want.

A note on color. I never (almost) use paint straight out of the tube. There are so many more beautiful colors that can be made by mixing. And the beauty of the painting is, in the final analysis, dependent on the beauty of the colors in it. In many cases I will mix color right on the canvas. For this painting, and the others in the series, I mixed the colors on the palette prior to throwing them on to the canvas.

Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Acrylic Painting by Brad Rickerby

Emotion 3,

20 x 20 x 1.5"

 Abstract Acrylic Painting on Canvas

Ready to Hang

Painting by Brad Rickerby

Available for sale.

Another in my series of emotion filled abstract expressionist paintings. As my last post, on the effect Beethoven and painting said, I'm starting to feel free, alive even, when I just let go and pour feeling, guided by just a vague outline of a plan, into these paintings. I'm starting to like the feeling of doing these paintings. It is very possible that you will see a lot more of these. On my Facebook art page www.facebook.com/bradrickerbyarts, one very kind gentleman said that these paintings reminded him of the old abstract expressionists. Since those are paintings that I love, I take his comments as a very high compliment. (If you want to "Like" me on my Facebook Arts page, that would be great!!)

The technique here is much the same as the last painting. I start off with 2" brushes and put on a dark multicolor base. I follow up with smaller and smaller brushes with a variety of different colors (I plan to start working with a more limited palette soon).All of my brush strokes, including the base coat layer are done as curves or squiggles. Any use of a straight line is always on a diagonal. I want the painting to be alive with motion. I also want the painting to have many textures. I pick up large amounts of paints on my brushes and use a couple of different kinds of acrylic media to accomplish this.In this painting I throw very little paint on at the end, the exact opposite of what I did in the painting below. This time I wanted a lot of the color from the many different layers to show through.

You can purchase the original painting or fine quality prints of this creating. Simply contact me at brad@bradrickerby.com

Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Acrylic Painting by Brad Rickerby

Off White

24 x 24 x 1.5"

Abstract Acrylic Painting on Canvas

by Brad Rickerby

Sides Painted - Ready to Hang

Technical note: The painting is brighter than it appears here. Because of all the white, it was basically impossible to photograph and show its real colors without blowing out the highlights (that is photo speak for making the photograph look bad).

This is, I believe, the largest painting I have ever done, and it took the longest too. The idea was once again to find a sense of freedom in the process of the painting. To just let go and paint. Letting go is great for the painting and for my sense of well being too.

I started this painting with large, 2 inch brushes and dark full color paint, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Dioxazine Purple to name a couple. At the same time I put on bunches of Course Pumice Gel to give patches of texture. Once dry I started with various and successively smaller brushes painting until the vast majority of the darker colors were covered. There is virtually no straight white paint in this work. Each white that you see is actually a Titanium White mixed with a small amount (very small, like I would stick my palette knife in, point down, and just use whatever small amount of paint adhered to to knife) of reds, yellows, blues and purples. The only unblended Titanium White are six streaks that I threw unto the canvas from a container of Liquitex soft acrylic paint.

This took a lot more paint than I usually used, but the end result was worth it. I always wear headphones when I paint. This was almost all done to Mozart and Bach.

Letting go of the fear

Gold Squeeze

Watercolor Painting by Brad Rickerby

Letting go of the fear. For me that is what art is, what creativity is. I have to let go of the fear of failing and of succeeding. I have to get past being afraid of what people will think of my work. I have to let go, to be in the moment, to just create what I feel. When I do that, I free myself to access my inner joy. I am enveloped by serenity and contentment. It doesn't happen often and getting to that point is my hugest challenge in painting. But on the few occasions that I do, I invariably create something I love. Which is not to say that it is good, just that I adore it for the moment of peace the process has brought to me.

New Abstract Painting

As with much of my artwork I was experimenting with colors and textures, working late into the night when it is quietest in my house. I stopped for a moment to see what I had created with all my playing and saw this, affectionately titled, "Abstract 29017". I love it.

This is an acrylic painting on paper, 6 x 6".

Naturally (Reflections)

After spending a lifetime with a camera in my hand and the last twenty years earing my keep with that camera, somehow today a paintbrush feels more natural there. Go figure.

Abstract Cityscape by Brad Rickerby

This is one of my favorite works. I love the colors and the energy. It is actually an abstraction of the skyline of Hong Kong looking on from Kowloon. Hong Kong is one of the best cities in the world and I re-visit it often, in both my work and my daydreams.

This painting is an acrylic on wood and measures 16 x 20".