The Illusion of Speed

Brush in Sunlight oil 12 x 9

The subject of speed has come up recently in regard to my painting so I thought I would discuss it here.  I love loose paintings. I love accurate, loose paintings. My goal is to create something with obvious brushwork that is applied thoughtfully and with intention. You may prefer something more detailed with hundreds of hours poured into the surface detailing.  Neither one is better than the other--again, it is a matter of preference.

Richard Schmidt writes in his book Alla Prima," Looseness should describe how a painting looks, not how it is done".  In other words, to create something that has confident control takes training.  It does not mean that the painting was done in a couple of hours. It means that the person who created it has practiced for hundreds and hundreds of hours to produce the illusion of speed. And I am still practicing this! Some paintings are finished quickly--on the days where the paint flows easily.  Most are labored over far longer than they may appear.  The paintings that appear labored are burned.  The paintings that appear to have been made quickly on the first try are framed and hung on the wall.

Postcards

Painting Detail

I read somewhere (I can't remember quite where right now) that in painting, one should be happy if any part of the painting goes well. Quite often I find that if I am struggling with a piece, somewhere in the painting there is a little postcard size section that really sings. A little 4 x 6 that works in terms of color and brushwork and composition.  It is piecing a bunch of postcards together that is the difficult part.  Sometimes it can be hard to let go of a painting that has a passage like this and wipe it out, though I suppose it is enough that that little postcard happened in the first place.

When I used to teach watercolor techniques, I recommended actually saving that little piece and using it as a postcard to send to a friend. It is more challenging to do so if you are working on board, but I suppose one could do the same.  Or photograph it and stick it in the recesses of your files. The best thing to do is to try to replicate it in another attempt.

I liked this small section of a recent painting because of the brushwork and subtle color ideas and I am going to try and capture the feel of the successful parts in another painting.

Handwriting

Late Day Glow 20 x 30

I've been working on the way I apply my paint lately.  My paintings tend to be hard-edged and I would like to have more variety in my brushwork and edges.  As I have been toiling away at it, trying different surfaces and paint applications, I have come to realize that my brushstrokes are bound to have a certain feel to them.  My hand innately moves a certain way. It is like handwriting--unique and individual, and something that is very hard to change. At the same time, it identifies the maker whether it is as a signature or a brushstroke.  So I am trying to bend to the inevitable--my brushwork is uniquely mine.  I am trying embrace the look of my paintings instead of fighting them.  Though wouldn't it be nice to handle paint like Sargent, or Schmidt, or Blumenschein?