Dividing the Invisible star,Abstract oil painting by Laurie Rubell

Dividing the Invisible Star – Abstract Oil Painting

Dividing the Invisible Star is an original abstract figurative oil painting by Laurie Rubell, created across two large hand-stretched canvases that form one continuous composition.

I began with layers of purple and blue oil paint, gradually building depth, movement, and color across both canvases. Abstract figures and forms appear to move through the composition, emerging and disappearing within the surrounding color.

Color, line, and space are central to this painting. Energetic brushstrokes, vivid drips, fluid shapes, and layered color create movement across the two canvases. As I paint, I think about the beginnings and endings of a moment and how a single brushstroke can capture that brief sense of change.

I work directly on hand-stretched canvas without preliminary sketches, allowing the painting to evolve as I work. Using a wide variety of artist brushes and oil colors, I make changes throughout the process as forms, relationships, and unexpected imagery begin to emerge.

Dividing the Invisible Star took more than four months to complete. The two canvases are designed to hang together as one artwork, although they can also be separated, allowing the space between them to become part of the composition.

This is a one-of-a-kind original oil painting. I do not create prints, copies, or limited editions of my work.

Artwork Details

• Original abstract figurative oil painting
• Oil paint on hand-stretched canvas
• Two-canvas artwork (diptych)
• Left canvas: 66” × 48” × 1.5”
• Right canvas: 66” × 48” × 1.5”
• Designed to hang together; canvases may also be separated
• Layered purple and blue oil paint with expressive brushwork and drips
• One-of-a-kind original artwork
• Signed and dated on the back
• Studio visits available by appointment

 Part 1 – Why I Create Two-Canvas Oil Paintings

Read Part 2: How My Abstract Diptych Paintings Developed