12" x 10", oil on linen."More structure, better brushstrokes"...I heard these suggestions many times throughout the workshop with David Leffel, and to me they may even collect the painting practice in its entirety (?).
'More structure' of course refers to all of our issues with creating a good abstract, structurally sound design, as well as creating a convincing solidity and mass, which we can only do by correct use of values, colors, and edges.
And 'better brushstrokes' I have been thinking a lot about lately, and how we can't achieve a good structure without them. I'm thinking that a better brushstroke is one that is decisive, crisp, and clean in its color. It's got to be one that has both a distinctive beginning and a distinctive end. I think those of us who paint at very least can sense in our gut when we've made a poor brushstroke: one of those thinly applied, feeble, and mushy ones that tentatively smears into its neighbor, and we can hear the scratch of the canvas beneath our brush--maybe this will work, we think. But we also can feel the triumph of a good brushstroke, and hopefully we have the sense then to leave it alone.
What do you think makes a brushstroke 'good'?
.jpg)
20 comments:
Good brushwork definitely means a committed stroke--one that was put down with authority. However, if we lay everything down in a similar bold way the painting suffers too--it is the variety of big strokes, deliberate strokes and "lost and found" strokes that seems to rule the day.
Nice painting ...by the way!
A good brushstroke? I am probably not qualified to answer since I paint with a palette knife. Hah! Seriously though, a good brushstroke is one that is definitive and not muddy!
"decisive, crisp, and clean in its color" are all important but I think a good brushstroke is also directional and informative. It can guide the eye and impart texture and emotion. And good brushes make all the difference!
These are good! really helpful!
Celeste, I had just finished posting this when I read your reply to me re. your recent post and brushstrokes, and I really liked the 'variety' aspect of it...so true, I hadn't thought of that. And yes, the lost and found strokes too.
Hi Leslie, well I guess you can comment anyway. hee hee. :) Seriously though, you're making strokes as much as the next one of us, so are those that are using pastels, etc. I agree, to stay away from muddiness, which, I guess is the same as indecisiveness!
Hi Kathleen, yes those are great additions to the definition...directional and informative. I like that- that if it's not informative in some way, it shouldn't be there. I agree too that good brushes are so worth the cost.
Excellent queston and one I constantly work on. I can't describe a good brushstroke but know it when i see it. Michael Naples I think is a master of a particular brushstroke that fascinates me.
I think you described the poor brush stroke perfectly. So a good brush stroke is boldly applied with strength and conviction. It is one we can see before it happens. And then with confidence we lay it down and leave it alone to join the others and do its job.
It's true isn't it, Rahina, we do sense it, even if we're not able to articulate it always. I've looked at Naples' work since I started looking at blogs--I've always liked his work too.
Hi Dori, yes! if we can see it before it happens, then we already know it's got to be there. Aren't those poor ones awful? I cringe when I'm aware I'm making them!
Great topic. I enjoyed this discussion. And thanks for summing up his teaching into this golden nugget.
The frame of mind does have so much to do with what kind of marks are left. Decisive & distinct vs fearful & feeble. Often I start out bold with nothing to lose, then when it shows potential I get afraid of ruining it.
I think you have defined it quite well! A good brushstroke is full of confidence. It holds the energy of the maker and cannot be anything more than true.
Very, very nice painting here!
I so enjoy following your blog Karen. Even though I don't paint, the wealth of knowledge here from you and the other painters who have commented are wonderful for me to gain insight into your respective works.
A good brushstroke is simply one that makes you happy: you conceived it, placed it, and you like the out come. It could be as bold as a thick, impasto slash of scarlet in a landscape, or as subtle as a shadow on a turning edge. If it conveys your interpretation in a way that makes you happy, then it's a great stroke.
Nice work on this piece. -W
Hi Jill, It is like a little golden nugget! It is hard, isn't it, to remain fearless. But I always like the idea that a painting can't be ruined, that it can always be 'brought back'. (okay, not that I haven't thrown out my share!)
Hi Melinda, that's nice, that it can't be anything more than true. Indeed! It's true whether it's a good one or a bad one--we always show ourselves on the canvas.
Hi Kathleen, I so agree, the insights are wonderful. And you might not paint, but in a sense, you have your own 'brushstrokes' I'm sure when you are working with the glass.
William, it's like the Zen-master has joined the discussion. I love what you added to the good brushstroke definition. Not surprisingly, I'd kind of forgotten about that happiness part of it. Maybe you are still in that Hawaiian state of mind!
Karen, I always love your questions! Sometimes I learn so much just from reading all the comments, such as with this post. Your portraits are wonderful and so authentically you!
Thanks Janelle! I too learn so much from all the input. It's fantastic. Thank you too so much for what you said...I take that as a tremendous compliment, to be painting in an authentic way. It's always our search isn't it?!
I don't paint, so I can't speak to an actual brush stroke. However, as with anything in life, when we do it well, with a decisive, crisp and clean stroke, it feels right. And as you said - hopefully we have the sense to leave it alone!
Yes Beverly...it does apply to so much more than that actual making of the stroke, in painting and in other things. Still working on leaving mine alone... :)
Well put Karen. That decisiveness is the same in pastel. Any kind of mark we artists make needs to speak, without indecision.
Yes I was thinking of you too when I was writing this Loriann, it really is a mark, rather than a specific brushstroke (with oils). Nice: speak without indecision.
These are all great descriptions... Your brushwork is expressive and definitive. Just keep doing it!
Hi Laurel, Isn't it great how everyone added to the definition? All combined, I think we have a good one.
And yes, I'll keep working on mine!
Post a Comment