New Year, New Abstract: Warmth

[dropcap1]W[/dropcap1]hen I’m not busy working on my many projects, I like to focus my creative energy on digital abstract paintings. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to devote time to my fine art. Sometimes breaks are good for an artist! Most of the time breaks offer new insight into my process giving me a chance to evolve my technique.

[image img=”http://digitalhart.com/pro/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/01-01-11_Warmth-300×200.jpg” url=”http://digitalhart.com/pro/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/01-01-11_Warmth.jpg” rounded=”all” alt=”Warmth © Nicki Hart 2011″/]

Technique & Inspiration

With some extemely frigid below zero temps in my neck of the woods, I was inspired to create something with warm and cool colors. Vivid colors are always part of my abstracts, but it’s fun to offer up some rich color paletes with some darker undertones.

My abstracts are a sweet release from the corporate imagery I work to create everyday. There are no rules, just fun colorful light flowing from a dark canvas. I really only have two inspirations when creating my abstracts. Light and color. The sources of light and color come from anywhere but mostly they derive from astronomical nebulas or lighting grids of towns/cities. As a child I was fascinated with town lights at night. I grew up on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere and would be in awe of the city lights as we approached. Driving over a giant hill to finally see the lights below only added to that wonder. At the time I never realized that wonder would evolve into a large inspiration for my future art self. The vivid colors I use are inspired by nebulas throughout the universe. There is so much bright light and color in the world, and my abstracts work to replicate it.

My artwork begins as an abstract light photograph that is further manipulated in Photoshop. The original photograph is rarely recognizable in the final piece. Using  a variety of textures and brush strokes,  I work to create whatever flows from my mind. Due to the little details in each abstract, a viewer sees something different when looking at the piece up close and far away. This is why I usually print my abstracts at a rather large scale. 

More…

[image img=”http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kte7wmRkU81qz7cxeo1_500.jpg” url=”http://vimeo.com/7764756″ rounded=”all” alt=”Artist Process: Jeweled Light © Nicki Hart”/]

Watch a time-lapse video of my process for Jeweled Light