Black and White Exercise

Abstract expressionists would pass this exercise on to the next generation just as my teacher had done for me. It is the best way to kick start day 1 of the journey of mark making enabling the playing with paint with maximum freedom and joy. Black paint is easy to use. A house paint brush is very cheap. Any paper would be fine. Early abstractionists would use discarded telephone books. The rule is simple to make different variations while trying to keep the 4 corners of the page different. The infinite combinations can be as simple or complex and as active or inactive as needed.

I used this exercise twice. On the first day when I first learned how to paint and then to try to re-learn it again after not touching paint for many years. The exercise works and helps me to understand the pictorial journeys from Cezanne to the Abstract expressionists.

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