Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Beginning in the early 20th century, abstract art became a leading style of modernism. Rather than portray the world in a way that represented reality, as had been the dominating style of Western art in the previous centuries, abstract paintings, prints and sculptures are marked by a shift to geometric forms, gestural shapes and experimentation with color to express ideas, subject matter and scenes.
Although abstract art flourished in the early 1900s, propelled by movements like Fauvism and Cubism, it was rooted in the 19th century. In the 1840s, J.M.W. Turner emphasized light and motion for atmospheric paintings in which concrete details were blurred, and Paul Cézanne challenged traditional expectations of perspective in the 1890s.
Some of the earliest abstract artists — Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint — expanded on these breakthroughs while using vivid colors and forms to channel spiritual concepts. Painter Piet Mondrian, a Dutch pioneer of the art movement, explored geometric abstraction partly owing to his belief in Theosophy, which is grounded in a search for higher spiritual truths and embraces philosophers of the Renaissance period and medieval mystics. Black Square, a daringly simple 1913 work by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, was a watershed statement on creating art that was free “from the dead weight of the real world,” as he later wrote.
Surrealism in the 1920s, led by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Meret Oppenheim and others, saw painters creating abstract pieces in order to connect to the subconscious. When Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York during the mid-20th century, it similarly centered on the process of creation, in which Helen Frankenthaler’s expressive “soak-stain” technique, Jackson Pollock’s drips of paint, and Mark Rothko’s planes of color were a radical new type of abstraction.
Conceptual art, Pop art, Hard-Edge painting and many other movements offered fresh approaches to abstraction that continued into the 21st century, with major contemporary artists now exploring it, including Anish Kapoor, Mark Bradford, El Anatsui and Julie Mehretu.
Find original abstract paintings, sculptures, prints and other art on 1stDibs.
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Archival Paper, Handmade Paper, Monoprint, Monotype
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Paper, Archival Ink
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
India Ink
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Illustration Board
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gesso, Watercolor, Acrylic, Mixed Media, Cotton Canvas, Paint, Canvas
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Masonite
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Enamel
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
Artist Comments
Artist Patricia Prendergast began this pastoral view of the distant Sierra mountains by toning the whole paper with raw sienna watercolor. She lightly outlined the composition and then applied many layers of pastels. "Keeping in mind the works of some of my favorite impressionist artists, I allowed some of the raw sienna to remain visible throughout the painting," she says. "This resulted in the sky and ground planes feeling like a unified whole."
About the Artist
Pastel artist Patricia Prendergast creates impressionist artworks that depict the rivers and landscapes near her home in Sacramento, California. With each nature vignette, she captures the sense of larger natural rhythms through quick mark-making, mauve undertones, and a tranquil and serene haziness. Her work recalls the paintings from the Hudson River School such as Thomas Cole and Asher Brown Durand. Before working on her pastels at home in her studio, she spends hours studying nature on walks along the river near her home. Since becoming an artist, she says “everything is more vivid - the beauty of light and shadow in the trees, the subtlety of the color of clouds, the sparkle and reflections in water.” Her work as been exhibited in solo shows around California. She is represented by UGallery.
Words that describe this painting: impressionist, mountains, clouds, sky, field, trees, Sierra Nevada...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, India Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Plastic, Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
1990s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Encaustic, Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Pastel, House Paint, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Handmade Paper, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Archival Paper, Pen
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
1960s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
1980s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mylar, Color Pencil
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Pigment
Late 20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Gouache
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Chalk, Charcoal
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Acrylic, Gouache, Graphite
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Epoxy Resin
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Mylar, Color Pencil
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Paper, Pigment
Artist Comments
"Milan, the center of fashion in Europe, is a beautiful city with fantastic classical architecture, trams and people milling about attending to their work," ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache, Magazine Paper
1970s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Crayon, Watercolor, Gouache, Graphite
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Fabric, Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
Artist Suren Nersisyan shares a happy turtle swimming underwater. He paints with a soft watercolor palette in light and delica...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Crayon, Sumi Ink, Handmade Paper
Early 2000s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Abstract Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Epoxy Resin, Acrylic