Abstract Nudes - My new series of original paintings

As usual, I’m not one to be pigeon-holed into a single niche and so I decided to explore painting nudes, albeit with a slightly abstract twist. I have never sketched or painted the human body before so this was going to be something very new for me. You may think that I took an image, sketch or photograph and worked from that, but I didn’t. This first painting was sketched onto the canvas as an outline just straight out of my head and then I started to play around with quick brushstrokes. I wanted to convey movement in what is essentially a static pose and I think the lines have helped me pull that off.

This was only intended as a prototype painting but I liked it so much as it is that I’ve decided to leave it alone. Going onwards, I think I will introduce some bold and more abstract colours to liven it up and perhaps also play around with different poses.

My intention is to create something beautiful but not tacky or rude. So, although the body needs to be obvious in some respects I don’t feel the need to make the paintings particularly detailed or include parts of the anatomy that might make some people uncomfortable. Of course, there are artists out there who do that and that’s just fine - it’s just not where I want to go.

Going forward then, my aim is to create a series of abstract nudes in various sizes. Most will be in acrylic paint on canvas but I may also create some in oils as I continue my new adventures into oil painting. I hope you like them and do please leave a comment and let me know what you think.