How to make your own abstract art

LEGO® Art sets have inspired people all over the world to bring color, energy and creativity into their homes. The latest is our most expressive yet as we explore a new style through the LEGO Art Modern Art set.

Bright, vivid and unique, the LEGO Art Modern Art set is a loving tribute to a style known as abstract art. With this set sure to become a favorite, we thought we’d give you some tips for creating your own abstract masterpiece by customizing the set.

But, before we get creative, it might be helpful to understand where abstract art came from and how and why it developed.

What is abstract art?

From the Renaissance to the mid-nineteenth century, the goal of painting was broadly one thing: to reflect reality as accurately as possible.

Then, in the late 1800s, artists began experimenting with recreating the world in less realistic ways. This became known as Impressionism.

Impressionism was less about painting a perfect replica and more about recreating a sense or feeling that the subject matter contained.

Think about all the details in Van Gogh’s The Starry Night... Van Gogh does not paint a perfect recreation. Instead, he paints his impression of the moment.

Impressionism led to other abstract movements (and a whole lot of -isms) as Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism took flight.

These movements became the foundation for most modern art that is created today.

It’s worth pointing out that we’re talking mostly about European art here. In Chinese painting, for example, an abstract approach was visible from as early as the twelfth century. Likewise, the sparse, splashed-ink style in the early Japanese art of the same era could easily be characterized as abstract.

Want more? Check out how we brought Hokusai – The Great Wave to life in LEGO bricks...

Top Tips: Create your own abstract wall art

Now, if you haven’t had enough of the -isms, we’ve got one more for you. We call it Brickism, and it’s all about expressing yourself and having fun with LEGO bricks.

The LEGO Art Modern Art set brings Brickism to everyone by allowing builders to explore their creativity and build eye-popping sets that can later be hung on their walls.

If you want to express yourself and brighten up your home, here are a few tips for getting started with abstract art....

Balance

Every element in your composition has a visual weight. By arranging elements symmetrically, you can create a feeling of equilibrium. Similarly, unbroken horizontal or vertical lines or placing weight in the lower two-thirds of your composition will help create a feeling of stability and calm.

But if you want more drama, why not add some disruption and tip the scales? Distribute the weight unevenly and see what mood that creates.

Rhythm

The repetition of shapes and colors creates visual dynamics and tempo for the viewer’s eye to follow. Organic shapes help create flow, rhythm and maybe just the right amount of chaos in a composition, whereas geometric shapes usually make a more structured expression. If you want to draw attention to specific elements, then play with the sizes of your shapes and see how they capture the eye.

Movement

Using your elements to create diagonal lines draws the viewer’s eye and gives your artwork a sense of movement and direction. Whether they’re explicit or more subtle, lines can take the viewer on a journey to different destinations around the artwork. You can also use color-blocking, which is the placement of contrasting colors and light and dark shades, to help you create focal points, depth and perspective in your artwork.

Rules are made to be broken

The LEGO Modern Art set comes with a booklet that will give you plenty more hints and tips like this to get you started with your set.

You might enjoy exploring these prompts, or you might prefer to go entirely alone. Whatever you choose is fine. With abstract art, there are no hard rules. And as long as you create something that expresses something about yourself, you’re doing it right.

So, be bold and be creative, and who knows, the next great artist in the long history of abstract art might be you.