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Abstract Painting, Demystified
With Kristen PhillipsIf abstract painting has ever moved you and left you wondering how anyone gets there, this is a way in. You'll spend time with Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Hilma af Klint, and Sonia Delaunay, five painters who each built a visual language of their own. Each session pairs art history with a guided practice drawn from that painter's way of working. Because it's audio, you build the painting in your mind first, so there's nothing to copy, and whatever arrives, arrives from you. A sixth session brings it all together, so you can see what's becoming your own. No experience needed, and there's no wrong way to do this. By the end you'll have five practices to return to, and the beginning of a way of working that's yours. Music sourced from MusOpen and Wikimedia Commons.
A guided practice following five master painters into a way of working that's entirely yours.
About this course
If abstract painting has ever moved you and left you wondering how anyone gets there, this is a way in. You'll spend time with Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Hilma af Klint, and Sonia Delaunay, five painters who each built a visual language of their own. Each session pairs art history with a guided practice drawn from that painter's way of working. Because it's audio, you build the painting in your mind first, so there's nothing to copy, and whatever arrives, arrives from you. A sixth session brings it all together, so you can see what's becoming your own. No experience needed, and there's no wrong way to do this. By the end you'll have five practices to return to, and the beginning of a way of working that's yours. Music sourced from MusOpen and Wikimedia Commons.
Meet your Teacher
Kristen Phillips is an abstract painter based in Bend, Oregon, whose studio practice is grounded in art history and a fascination with how a painting comes to have meaning. Her own work moves between canvas and paper, built from the marks, shapes, and colors that return until they become a language of her own. She teaches from that perspective, joining fine art with contemplative methods to show that building a visual language is not a rare talent but an accessible way of paying attention.