Alright, so I wanted to share a bit about my recent dive into Fauvism and Expressionism. It wasn't some academic thing, you know? More like I was feeling a bit stuck with my usual stuff, wanting to break free a little.
Getting Started with Wild Colors - That Fauvism Vibe
So, I started looking at Fauvism. The name itself, "wild beasts," kinda clicked with me. I thought, "Okay, let's just go wild with color." My first step was just grabbing my paints – acrylics, mostly, because they dry fast and I can just slap 'em on.
I decided not to think too much about what colors should be. A tree doesn't have to be green, right? So, I started painting a landscape, a pretty simple one I see on my walks. But this time, the sky went orange, the trees were bright blues and purples, and the path was a screaming yellow. It felt incredibly liberating!
My process was pretty chaotic, honestly:
- I'd squeeze out a bunch of colors onto my palette, often ones that I thought would clash.
- Then, I'd just load up my brush and go for it. Not much blending, more like distinct patches of pure color.
- I wasn't trying to make it look realistic at all. It was more about how the colors felt next to each other.
The first few attempts were a mess, let me tell you. Muddy colors where I didn't want them, and sometimes it just looked like a kid's art project. But I kept at it. I found that if I just committed to the bold choices, even if they seemed weird, something interesting started to happen. It was all about expressing joy and energy through those vibrant, unnatural colors. It really made me rethink how I use color in everything.
Moving into Deeper Feelings - My Tryst with Expressionism
After playing around with Fauvism for a while, I felt myself naturally drifting towards something a bit more... intense, I guess? That’s when I started exploring Expressionism. It felt like a natural next step, still using color boldly, but now trying to get more of my inner world out.
This was less about just joyful, vibrant scenes and more about trying to convey a specific emotion or state of mind. This was harder, for sure. It meant really digging in and figuring out what I was feeling and how to translate that visually.
Here’s what I tried:
- I started using more distortion. Figures weren't anatomically correct; landscapes were skewed.
- Brushstrokes became even more visible and energetic, sometimes aggressive, sometimes more melancholic.
- Color was still super important, but it felt like it had a different job. Instead of just being bright and cheerful, colors became heavy or jarring or somber, depending on the mood I was going for.
I did a few self-portraits in this style, and they were... interesting. Definitely not flattering! But they felt more honest in a way. I wasn’t trying to capture what I looked like, but more what I felt like at that moment. Sometimes it was unsettling to see the results, but it was also a powerful way to process things.
One evening, I was feeling particularly stressed, so I just grabbed some dark blues, blacks, and angry reds and started painting with no real plan. The canvas ended up looking quite chaotic, with sharp angles and swirling forms. It wasn't "pretty," but it was a true reflection of my headspace. And afterwards, I actually felt a bit lighter. It was like I’d gotten some of that tension out onto the canvas.
So yeah, that's been my journey messing around with these styles. It’s been less about creating masterpieces and more about the experience of pushing my own boundaries and finding new ways to put paint on a surface. It’s definitely changed how I approach my art now. It's more about feeling and expression, and less about just copying what I see. A lot of fun, and a bit of a struggle, but totally worth it.
