One of the biggest challenges faced by artists trying out geometric art is: How to simplify objects in art? You need to capture the essence of the objects while still changing it with geometry. Geometric abstraction of real objects has the best of both worlds and a direction that might otherwise be lost in a totally abstract art.
Choose something you really like
You can try making geometric version of anything you wish. However, if you choose a subject which really lights you up, chances are that you will do justice to it. For instance, my inspiration was Turkish lamps which literally light up any place magically.
I went to a fair and a Turkish shop was selling these beautiful lamps that captured my attention. Many years later, I started working on a painting series “Multicoloured” and the beauty of those colourful Turkish lamps kept coming to me as inspiration.
One fine day, I listened harder to that inspiration knocking my creativity door and the idea of my painting “Joy of Colours” was born.
Choose how much to simplify
In my opinion, there are two ways to go around converting a real object into geometric. One is to literally follow it and change it to a geometric pattern intentionally. I have used this method in my geometric portraits and geometric flowers paintings.
However, there is another method in which I don’t follow any reference picture and I just try to recall it from memory. What this method does to me is that it also makes me remember how I felt about it. You are capturing the soul of the object rather than its structure.
In the case of Turkish lamps, I recalled my feelings and created a chandelier full of colours and geometry. Its structure wasn’t exactly same as the ones I had seen but its soul was. It lighted me up the same way the actual ones did.
Another instance when I recalled rather than used a reference picture was in my painting “Carriage to the Dreams”. Here, I recalled the imaginary carriages we saw in numerous fairy tales movies like Cinderella and created one carriage out of my own imagination. My goal here was to trust my memory and still create something unique.
Paint it as if it was a real object
What I mean here is that you need to show your audience some resemblance to the real object. You have played with the structure and given it a geometric shape. However, geometric abstraction of real objects can go to a higher level with some additional efforts. To make your geometric object more relatable, paint it intentionally and bring realistic details if possible.
For instance, I painted each geometric block of the larger chandelier darker at the edges and bright and light at the centre. This gave the effect of a lamp emanating light from its centre. Additionally, it helped to create a three dimensional effect and separating one block from another.
Don’t miss the subtle details
Although I gave the colouring of the chandelier an effect of light emanating from tiny lamps. I still felt I wanted to give it more subtle, vintage details. That’s when I decided to give the outline of each individual lamp of the chandelier a brownish tint with a hint of copper shade. This small change instantly elevated my chandelier. It felt right and vintage and handmade.
Conclusion
Geometric paintings don’t always need to be completely abstract. You can subtly bring real elements in them while striking a balance with geometry. Make objects from reference or recall or complete imagination. Sometimes, geometric abstraction of real objects is more expressive version than its original counterpart. Experiment and get better with each piece of your art!
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