Expressions of an Abstract Painter

Untitled by Tom Hlas ©2012

Sometimes I think one can be too careful. Actually what I mean is sometimes I think I am too careful. Strike that. What I really mean is sometimes I’m way too careful when I create art. Not that I want to create messy art or haphazard art. But I self-edit my work even before it’s created. I hold back. I don’t let the muse flow as she or he wants to flow. I imagine this is not a unique thought but rather one that is shared by others.

It’s a new year. May this new year bring a new freedom to us all. A new freedom to refrain from holding back. A new freedom to let go. A new freedom to self express.

If we’re going to error, let’s error on the side of too much expression, too much beauty, too much loving. Let our banner be an explosion of creativity.

Let’s make a resolution to rally around creative articulation that’s steeped in the greater truth however it’s expressed. It goes without saying that our declarations and outpourings be based in kindness without harm to one another. And if our creativity challenges others to look beyond their comfort zones, beyond what is familiar, may it be an invitation to explore, not a threat.

- Visit Tom’s abstract painting web site

The Farthest Shore by Pia De Girolamo ©2011

When I first moved to Philadelphia in 2006, I was struck by all the restaurants that participated in the “buy fresh, buy local” program. It was their way to provide fresher food to their clientele and, at the same time, help local food producers. It’s a wonderful example of neighbor helping neighbor. Everyone wins.

While we live in a global community, we also rub elbows daily with local businesses and providers who can’t compete with the offerings and prices of international corporations. Small, local businesses depend on the support of nearby customers.

The same is true of the local arts community. Why buy your art work and wall decor from large, mass market chain stores or big box stores? And nothing against Broadway, but local theatre and dance companies abound. Look to them for great plays and musicals. Or maybe your local coffee shop or public library can be your stop for a poetry or book reading or evening of live music.

Speaking of the visual arts, you can get great art from local artists at all price ranges, in all styles and mediums. So the next time you think about buying art at a retail store, think about the local artists in your community. You’ll be supporting artists who depend on your patronage and you’ll get great, one-of-a-kind, original art that will help make your home or office stand out from the sprawling masses.

- Visit Tom’s abstract painting web site

NOTE: The painting shown above is The Farthest Shore, by M. Pia De Girolamo. Acrylic on Canvas, 42 x 48 inches.

Untitled, 14 x 10-1/2 inches by Tom Hlas ©2011

There’s an old saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. This is often said in terms of the individuals to whom one is attracted or not attracted.

There’s another old saying, most often used when speaking about objects, that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

What breeds this seemingly relative attraction or value when the same object can be perceived so differently among people? Is it learned? Is it conditioned? Is it arbitrary, based on whim? Obviously it’s not inherent in the object itself. If it was, all people would share the same perception.

Likewise with art. What is it that accounts for a wide range in artistic tastes? I know I am quick to judge. With an almost knee jerk reaction, I notice what artwork captures my attention, my like or dislike. However, it’s interesting to note my tastes have changed or widened over the years. What I once found appealing may now leave me ambivalent. What I once found distasteful, I may now find intriguing and delightful.

Perhaps the challenge for us all is to notice the beauty found in all people and in all art. And not be so quick to embrace, judge or dismiss. Take a closer look. What do you see that you can appreciate?

- Visit Tom’s abstract painting web site

Blue Expanse, 48 x 36 inches by Tom Hlas ©2011

Time is fickle. It can pass in the blink of an eye or seemingly drag on forever.

As I glance at my last blog article, I realize it’s been almost ten weeks since I posted it. When I first started this blog, I had every intention of posting a new article every week. But now, almost a whole season has passed since my last posting. Should I make that mean something? Should I make excuses? Should I make myself wrong? Or is it more powerful to take note and regard it an illustration of the ebb and flow of life?

One can get entirely wrapped up with thoughts about what one is doing or NOT doing. Then those thoughts are internalized to somehow mean something about oneself. No time is allowed for the pure “doing” of life, that is, for simply living moment to moment.

Be kind to yourself. Let yourself enjoy what life brings each moment. No particular moment is lasting. Feelings of guilt, longing, stress, happiness, peace, pain, jealousy and joy are all fleeting moments. They come and go like clouds passing in the night. Treat them as such.

- Visit Tom’s abstract painting web site

Memories, 18" x 18" by Tom Hlas ©2011

Over the last several of months, my painting has been impacted and inspired by memories of my childhood, family and heritage. As I get older these remembered moments seem to grow in importance. Maybe it’s because I’m geographically separated from my biological family. (All of my nine siblings live in eastern Iowa and I live in Philadelphia.) Maybe it’s due to how quickly time passes and a growing sense of my own mortality. Maybe I’m taking stock and realizing what’s most important in life. Or maybe, it’s just a more direct outpouring of my life in my art.

For the first time in my artistic career, I’m aware of how my external world triggers my artistic world. This may happen simply by seeing an image, an object, a color or even a printed word. If possible, I cut out and/or save that item. In fact, I’m now consciously on the look out for these visual stimuli. It’s a process of noticing what catches my eye, noting what association I make with it, then filing away the physical piece and mental connection.

In one of my latest paintings, titled Memories, I’ve included several of these personal references. One is an actual scrap of fabric leftover from my mother’s stash of material. The scrap is from a flour sack in which flour was purchased during the WWII era. My mother once told me how she, and many women at the time, saved these flour sacks and re-used them as fabric to make clothing and household linens. I also included a cut out from an old clothing catalog. The dress reminds me of the type of dresses worn by women during my childhood years. In the lower part of the painting is a piece of paper with handwriting. Often my mother would send my father to do the grocery shopping when she needed to stay home and tend her growing family. Shopping was not second nature for my father so my mother always gave him a written list which he would return to her along with the purchased groceries.

As an artist, I don’t know if my collected memories will connect with others and have meaning for them. But they have both a tender and primal impact on me and my creative process. It’s a part of me that I offer to you, the viewer, along with the physicality of my painting.

- Visit Tom’s abstract painting web site