Watch and learn how Robert Burridge begins his abstracts from concepts, composition, color and commitment.

At first glance, abstract paintings seem to follow no rules. Untrue! In fact, a good abstraction follows, as artist Robert Burridge puts it, the four Cs: concept, composition, color, and commitment. Follow along as Robert brings you on a tour of the four Cs. Starting with concept, he encourages you to jot down a note about your intention for a painting.

This will keep you focused as you get into the work. Next is composition and Robert guides you through examples of the 12 designs of composition. Each of these 12 is a framework for a different abstract painting. He shows you how you can focus on one composition a day as part of your warm up. Next Robert jumps into color. Working from his color wheel, he explains four color combinations for you to use in your painting including analogous, complementary, monochromatic and triadic.

He shows that by choosing one of those color combinations (and adding black and white) you are setting yourself up for a good painting. Then he brings out the color wheel he designed himself and shows you how in his paintings, he chooses a dominant color, adds a second color as the focal point and then two additional colors, which he calls the spice. It’s a crash course in color theory that actually makes sense. Next Robert shows you all of these ideas in practice first with a small warm up and then with a large painting both with the composition style meandering.  He chooses a color to be his dominant, adds a bit of collage and works the painting until he likes what he sees.

Robert moves fast and loose and he always goes back to his dominant color to make sure it is in fact still dominant. In the end, Robert says, “You can’t judge your painting in the same place you created it. You need to isolate it,” so he pulls out his inexpensive matte to see if his painting is finished.

In this video Robert shows you his approach to making award winning abstract paintings. Using acrylics, paper collage and his twenty years of teaching experiences, Robert clearly demonstrates each step on how he creates paintings. Watch how he prepares the surface, makes conceptional notes, decides on a composition and color combination before he begins his painting. You will feel more confident painting the way you have always wanted to paint when you know what techniques work for him and what can work for you too.