Realistic Abstracts

About Kees Van Aalst

Kees van Aalst is a visual artist who lives and works in the Netherlands. He runs workshops and courses, for example in watercolour painting and oriental painting techniques, and is the author of several books. He works to commission, and sells his work to private individuals and organisations all over the world.

International Journal of the Guild of Silk Painters (Issue 97) - Spring 2019

'The book is excellent, with a great selection of loosely constructed pictures, teaching us to loosen up and be a lot less literal. Fantastic approach to using colours, most of which are subtle and great explanation about lines with effect of colour. I believe many of us do not quite understand what abstract is, this book gives good examples of which help to grasp the meaning of abstract.'

 

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seasidestudioblog.blogspot.com

Feb 11

I confess I hadn't heard of this artist/author/teacher before who is from the Netherlands, after reading this book I would love to attend one of his workshops. To me his paintings portray a sincere love of painting, there is a lot of joy and enthusiastic excitement in the brushstrokes and fluidity of the paint that shines through.

As the book is aimed at more experienced painters to challenge and stretch their working methods, rather than beginners, there is a very short discussion at the beginning about colours and materials that might be needed and some examples of techniques. It's almost as a reminder rather than one of those long and laborious explanations that take up vast portions of other books, which personally I find frustrating. The book is aimed at those using water based media although in many ways I think it is useful for all mediums.

Rather the majority of the book is used to explain the concepts of seven principles, (unity, contrast, dominance, repetition, variety, balance, and harmony) and seven elements, (line, tone, colour, texture, form, proportion and direction). Each is eloquently explained with lots of illustrations. As a list I would say it is a very useful guideline for analysing and improving your work. The onus of the book is to transform, '...reality by means of elimination and simplification' with reference to these elements and principles.

You are encouraged to, 'Paint what you feel, not what you see.' which is a far cry from the 'paint what you see not what you think you see' often chanted at art school. It's not a how to paint book as such but more a how to express what you feel, encouraging you to develop you own self expression in a fluid, gestural and impressionistic way. I see this book as an encouraging bridge between the realms of competent amateur and the first steps to becoming an artist.

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judithfarnworthart.blogspot.co.uk

Dec 12

This book was recommended to me by someone who thought it would suit my style of painting and as I have read it I realise this is actually how I aspire to paint. The book is really about how we approach our work in a looser, more spontaneous and impressionistic way and as I have never wanted to slavishly copy an image, it seemed a good choice for me. I was very heartened to read in the first few pages that the author feels this way of painting is a greater challenge than either realistic or pure abstract work. something I have been feeling for a long time and so good to read it in black and white!!! The challenges in producing a piece of semi abstract art are fraught with difficulty which is easier to resolve in both realistic and abstract work and it is music to my ears to hear that my struggles have been because I have chosen this way to express myself and this book does go quite a way in resolving some of those difficulties. One interesting quote from the book is something I feel certain you will have all said to yourselves with great frustrationI am not quite satisfied with this piece of work but I do not know what is wrong with it? Those would not be my exact words, mine would be far less printable but the principle is the same. The author goes on to explain that in almost every case it is a matter of composition rather than lack of technique and executionand putting into practice the Principles and Elements of design and the author then goes on to explain them in quite an enlightening way with useful images to illustrate each point. I mention this as I have read several books which contain chapters on composition and I have found this the easiest to assimilate. Drawing is mentioned, again as a key feature, something I have also come to recognise painting in a loose impressionistic way does not remove the need for good drawing skills, even a suggestion of something needs to be the right size in relation to other objects, needs to have the right perspective, and to be able to produce a spontaneous piece of art the artist needs to be able to draw and represent whatever they choose to represent in a way which inspires the viewers imagination done by hinting at something which they can recognise. This is a book I will keep at the side of me when I am embarking on a new piece, apart from being endowed with glorious illustrations from artists such as Viktoria and Slawa Prischedko, Xavier Swolfs, Piet Lap and the author himself to name but a few, it is full of helpful tips and hints and while not really for the beginner (it assumes the reader is well rehearsed in techniques and execution of the media) it is certainly a book for every one of you who would like to loosen up in your style it is a very encouraging book reinforcing the notion that creating a good painting is a skill which can be taught.