Being Painterly

"Alone," oil on panel, 6x8. Private collection.

Painting realistically is difficult for beginning painters. Beginners are tempted to put in every detail, every shadow, every leaf in the trees. It's a natural impulse. For those of us who render the real world, we want our work to look real. A common comment that many artists have heard from the public is "it looks just like a photograph," meaning that the painting looks real, evokes the subject. That doesn't mean the artist painted every nail head in the side of the barn, though.

Being loose in treatment of a subject isn't the same as being sloppy. Many people admire the "painterly" work of artists like Rembrandt, or van Gogh, or even Lucien Freud. The term painterly is used to describe works that are in part or completely about the paint itself--works that showcase color, brushstrokes, shapes, and so on. More smoothly finished and linear works like those of photorealists or perhaps Ingres are typically not termed painterly.

"Pink Umbrella," oil on panel, 8x10. Private collection.

Strategies I've adopted to loosen my work and make it painterly: 

1. Study the object. An old mentor once told me to spend more time looking (at my subject) than putting down strokes of paint. To my teacher that meant spending time on a careful analysis of sizes, angles, values, and more before making a single stroke of paint. Carpenters all know the old maxim "measure twice, cut once." The same can apply to painting. We've all seen masters who can paint quickly and accurately yet seem to spend little time looking the subject. They've had years of practice. When starting to paint, quickly slashing down a stroke of paint can be enormously satisfying but for the beginner it's too often inaccurate. Instead each stroke should be very carefully considered. Facility comes with practice.
2. Simplify. Elimination of needless details while emphasizing overall shape is another way to make one's work painterly yet realistic. Instead of each

   

   "On the Studio Table," oil on panel, 6x8

   leaf in an oak tree the overall shape of the tree is more important. A poplar is much different in shape than an oak tree, for example. Another way to simplify a work is to limit one's palette. The painting "Alone," is actually a monochromatic work done with raw umber and white. The small size, limited palette, and simplification of detail made this an effective work.
3. Use big brushes. Big brushes help enormously in simplifying. Using big brushes reduces the temptation to make tiny picky strokes, placing emphasis on volume and shape instead. Big brushes help make strokes economical too, and reduce tiny distracting detail.
4. Do not overwork. Many make a brush stroke then rework and rework. The process is called "licking," and results in too-smooth passages that can look forced and mechanical. When making a stroke, be sure you have considered it well before laying down the paint. Make certain that the stroke says what is meant in color, value, shape, and thickness. Then leave it alone.

One way to work on strategies like these is to set up a regular process and to time the work. That is, doing a single small painting every day with a short time limit (say 30 or 45 minutes) while striving to adhere to these strategies is a good way to go.

In summary then, to be painterly be deliberate and paint simply. And practice practice practice.