How to apply strokes for smooth application in abstract painting and how it works

Why flat areas are important in your painting:

In abstract painting or perhaps in any painting style strokes matter a lot. Even if you want to show a lot of texture in your painting, some smooth surfaces in your painting will make a fabulous contrast. Just the way all light, with no dark to show the contrast, can result in a boring painting. Heaps of paint with no flat areas can look extremely boring and flat. Here is my trick. The smoother the flat area the better the contrast is with thick paint strokes and texture of paint that you apply later.

How to apply paint to achieve flat area:

Flat areas though are very important but they can ruin your painting if you don't apply paint with care or in the right way. You may call it attention to detail in abstract painting.

Blue:

Strokes applied in two directions making a plus sign 

(Same pressure, brush, effort, and time)

Green:  

Strokes applied in all directions making a plus, cross, and everything in between as flower with many petals

(Same pressure, brush, effort, and time)

Strokes in one direction or in two directions can give a unique effect all by itself that you can definitely use and make rules for your painting. After all art is all about being creative but here I am sharing my own little trick that I have learnt through time after experimenting different things.

Here I am going to give example from close-ups of my own painting where I used the same trick to achieve fine texture contrast. 

In all the photos that you see above the base coat is achieved using the same technique that is strokes in multiple directions.

Important thing:

Here important thing is that just strokes in multiple directions is not enough. To achieve a seem less effect you need to apply certain pressure on your brush as well as keep on stroking until it is nice and smooth. 


Here are some more close ups from the same painting.

Notice even a slight thick stroke on smooth painted surface shines so beautifully. I am just loving the trick. 

Precautions:

The only problem with this technique is that if you are using acrylic paints you are more likely to get stains of dark color on the outer edges. To avoid this you can do the following:

1. Do the stroke process immediately after you apply paint on the surface of your canvas. A delay of even ten seconds can be to late.

2. Applying to much pressure on your brush can also cause patches.

3. To little paint diluted with water can also cause patches. Start with pure paint and mix water in your acrylic only when needed.  

I hope this will be helpful for someone out there. Enough of close-ups here is a  full view of the painting.