• Mixed Media Art
  • September 26, 2023

Abstract Woman Art – A Journey Through My Creative Evolution

Two examples of abstract woman art - mixed media paintings of girls with flowers in their hair. The girl on the left has long, light pink hair with white and blue flowers and is on a background of collaged book pages whitewashed with paint. The girl on the right has a long dark brown braid, with orange and yellow flowers by her ear. She is on a bright orangish-red collaged and painted background. Neither face has features.

I’ve been creating purely abstract work for a number of years now, but lately I’ve felt the pull back to creating faces, so I thought it would be fun to go back in time and show you some of the faces of my past.  Abstract woman art, in particular, was one of the first subjects I fell in love with when I started creating in earnest. 

My early girls

My creative journey into faces and figures began with collage, usually of the full girl combined with an inspirational phrase.  The background was created using a variety of patterned paper, paint and stamps, often forming some kind of scene.  The figure of the girl emerged by piecing together shapes made with a variety of mixed media materials, including patterned paper, paint, fabric, or even cardboard.  The fun part was embellishing their outfits with bits of lace, crochet, ribbon and gems.   

Collage is a great way to start making art, especially if you have perfectionist tendencies.

Are you a recovering perfectionist, like me?  I know well the fear of messing up a painting as you’re working on it, or of “wasting” a cherished paper or embellishment on a piece that doesn’t work out.  If that sounds like you, collage is an excellent starting point as it allows for experimentation with size and placement of elements before committing them permanently to the canvas.

Here are some of the very first girls I ever created!

Collage art on a square canvas of a girl wearing a red patterned dress embellished with crochet, and wide leg blue pants. She is standing in outdoor scene of green grass and red flowers, with a blue sky background created with stamped and painted paper. A phrase stamped on white strips of paper says "she chose to seek beauty."
Small collage of a girl wearing a pink color sleeveless dress and boots. She has shoulder length straight brown hair. No features are shown. She is on a background of green paint stamped with numbers and decorated with washi tape.
Collage art on canvas of a girl wearing a long dress in purple and white. The bottom of her dress is made of corrugated cardboard painted purple. Her hair is up in a bun and she is on a mixed media background in mostly yellow and some bright purple. Her features are not shown.
Mixed media collaged girl on canvas. She is wearing a pleated orange and yellow dress with a teal and white polka dotted collar. She is shown in an outdoor scene of green grass with red flowers to her side, and a light blue background and big yellow sun in the upper left hand corner. A stamped phrase says "she knew love makes the world go round."

Navigating changing styles

Looking back on these brings back so many memories!  I still love the more girly-girls, but I can see how my style began to shift, moving away from quotes and embracing a darker, edgier aesthetic marked by abstraction. 

I began to create larger face-only works, often with flowers in her hair like the two at the top of this post.  I still used some collage but began moving more towards creating with mostly acrylic paint.  These are some of my absolute favorites! 

I love how the face without features leaves it up to the viewer to imagine what she might look like.  What color eyes does she have?  Are they intense, or more calm?  What would her expression be?  Would she be smiling or serious?  Many of the pieces I created during this time are framed or hanging in my powder room (the crazy art room), which you get a glimpse of here.  I hope to show you that room in a future post as well!

Collage of a faceless girl on a bright blue patterned paper background. She is wearing a textured white off the shoulder shirt with red flowers around the top. Her head is adorned with a stack of the same type of red flower. She has short brown hair and pink cheeks.
Painting of a faceless girl with dark black hair pulled into a pony tail behind her. She is wearing an off the shoulder shirt in black and white and has dangling blue earrings. The background of the painting is collaged patterned papers washed with light green paint.
Painting of a girl with long black braids on both sides. She is wearing a turquoise beaded necklace and an olive green shirt adorned with light and dark blue marks. The background is painted bright yellow. Her features are not shown.
Framed art in a bathroom with painted black walls. Original painting of a faceless woman with her head covered in a red, purple and gold patterned fabric.
Gallery wall of framed art covering painted black walls in a room. Original painting of a faceless girl with a thick, dark braid down one side and a headband and white adornment in her hair. She is painted on a bright pink background and has pink cheeks.

From face only to features

The evolution continued as I ventured into painting full faces, blending collage with acrylic paint and stamping.  Photography became a key source of inspiration, leading to hours spent exploring the internet for compelling images.  Intrigued?  Click the Art Inspiration image below to explore my Pinterest board filled with unique photos of women.  Can you tell which pictures some of these were inspired by?

Click to check out
my inspiration board!

Painting of a woman with curly black hair, thick black eyebrows, and black eyes. She is painted on a pink background and is wearing a white patterned shirt.
Painting of a girl with light red hair and brown eyes with a long braid to the side. She has purple flowers in her hair and a green patterned shirt. She is on a background of tan, collaged sewing pattern papers.
Painting of a girl with long purple hair to the side and a large yellow flower above her ear. She has brown eyes and is looking straight ahead. She is painted on a background of collaged patterned papers washed with white paint.
Painting of a woman with brown eyes, purple flowers as her hair and leaves trailing down. The background is bright yellow and her shirt is a stenciled pattern in black and white.
Mixed media painting of a girl with short purple hair and a patterned shirt. The background contains hand written song lyrics and paint in gray and peach colors.

A self portrait

I’ll leave you with this last painting which is some what of a self-portrait.  Can you tell what is written in the background?  It’s another of my favorite techniques – using song lyrics.  Let me know in the comments if you know the group and song, especially if you’re a fellow Gen X’er!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my early work.  In the next post I’ll show you how I combined painting girls with journaling and planning. 

Whether you’ve painted faces or explored your creativity through a different outlet, I invite you to share your experiences.  I hope you find time for your creative joy this week, and thank you for being part of this artistic journey.

Jennifer ♡

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