Sunrise | Abstract geometric landscape in blue, ochre and burgundy by MadameRuiz

I created this original abstract painting while I was pregnant with my eldest son. At the time, I painted many portraits of women, but somehow I had lost my connection with those portraits. I wanted to create something completely different, yet I noticed that I kept falling back into my old patterns.

So I challenged myself to work truly abstract for once. Perhaps I did not succeed completely, because to me this artwork still clearly shows an abstract landscape. You might see a horizon, a sea view, a coastline, a landscape at sunset or even an urban skyline. The work therefore moves between geometric abstraction, abstract landscape art and expressive painting.

This geometric artwork is built from a rhythmic grid of square and rectangular colour fields in blue, blue-grey, grey, ochre yellow, beige, black, rust and burgundy red. Together, the blocks create a layered composition reminiscent of a mosaic, pixel art, patchwork, tiled pattern or pixel grid. From a distance, the work appears graphic and structured, while up close the painterly textures, subtle colour variations and irregular edges become visible.

The white square in the centre represents the rising sun to me. At the same time, it symbolises the new life that was growing inside me and the new direction and new paths I was about to explore in my art.

The upper section is dominated by cool blue, grey and anthracite tones. I see the dark shapes as birds in the sky: life, movement, energy and freedom. Towards the middle, warmer colours appear, such as ochre, mustard yellow, sand, beige, taupe and rust. These warm earthy tones contrast with the cool blues and give the painting a sunny, almost landscape-like atmosphere.

At the bottom, a deep burgundy, wine red and reddish-brown colour field forms a powerful foundation. Here my painting style becomes looser and more expressive. Dripping paint, visible paint runs, imperfect edges and painterly textures break through the strict geometric shapes. It is precisely this combination of colour fields, grid structure, texture, abstraction and free-flowing paint marks that gives this modern artwork its character.

This painting, together with another pixel art piece, helped me overcome my artistic block. Although I later returned to painting female portraits, my work gained much more freedom, spontaneity and expression from that moment onwards. Personally, I still consider the portraits that followed to be among my most beautiful works.

Sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone to discover