Expressive Abstracts in Acrylic

Anita Horskens is a freelance, lecturer and tutor, who runs her own painting school in Bavaria. Her new book, Expressive Abstracts in Acrylic, is a practical guide to finding freedom and expression through the medium of acrylic paint. Anita shows you how to abstract your subject, and offers detailed information on texture, collage, composition, colour, line and pattern. There are also 55 projects for you to work through.

It seems now to be traditional that books on abstract painting are project based and this useful guide is no exception. The main reason, I suspect, is that it’s very hard to teach the creative aspect of the topic. The basic principle is that you extract or abstract the essence of your subject and portray it in a way that tells the viewer how you felt about it and what it was like to be there in the moment. How far you take this is entirely up to you – there may be quite a few recognisable shapes and forms, or perhaps none at all. You may be wishing to express a mood rather than a sense of place, for instance.

All this is rather esoteric, but it’s something to consider before embarking on the process. What you can teach, of course, is techniques and that’s what this guide aims to do in the fifty-five featured projects. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with colour, contrast, glazing, composition, negative shapes and paint pouring as well as exploring materials and surfaces. There’s a lot to get to grips with and the simple exercises that are presented give you plenty of examples to work with as well as ways to add your own personal touch – the instructions are concise and allow for plenty of interpretation, which is, after all, the name of the game in this field.

There are other guides that offer a similar approach, but this one is about as comprehensive as it gets.

I love this colourful and glossy book, such a pleasure to browse through. Lots of clear info about paints, paper and materials as well as the encouragement to experiment in many different ways.

Excellent value for money. I highly recommend this book.

At last an art book with large, clear photographs. Without wishing to sound arrogant, there wasn’t really any method I haven’t tried, but I’ve been an abstract artist for years. So I’m surprised at how different some of the work appears. I shall keep this book by my side for inspiration, just flicking through the pages pleased me.If you want inspiration, guidance, advice, and the joy of seeing a fabulous artist’s work then buy this book. It stands way above all the other books on this subject, and I own a lot.

Not one complaint. Whaaat?

Abstract painting is as much a state of mind as a technique. It’s an invented language, which the viewer is invited to interpret in order to understand both what the artist saw and we ourselves feel. To write a book about it is, therefore, something of a tall order and it is perhaps not surprising that most authors shy away from the creative and concentrate on the technical. This is not an invalid approach, but does run the risk of doing something equivalent to musical noodling, where outcomes can be unpredictable, albeit they might produce worthwhile results. If you fancy a noodle, this is no bad place to start. The 55 projects explore an impressive range of tools and application techniques and the results are really not too shabby. Actually, if you just want to explore the possibilities of acrylic media and mediums, you should find plenty to enjoy here.

Fabulous book for the abstract painter. Easy to understand and projects shown have clear instructions plus a list of materials as most are using mixed media. It is a delight to have a book like this as I find there are very few books on abstract painting. Well done Anita Hörskens!

Anita Hörskens lives and works as a freelance artist and runs her own painting school in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm in Bavaria. She has worked as a trainer and speaker in the field of artists’ supplies since 1994. She leads seminars in all standard painting and drawing techniques, and offers painting holidays, portfolio preparation courses and creative seminars for companies. As the author of numerous acrylic textbooks, she has also lectured at various specialist academies since 2004, with a focus on Experimental Mixed Techniques with Acrylic. In her blog, she regularly reports on News from the Studio.