By Michael Chesley Johnson For award-winning watercolorist Rick Anderson, the broad plains of the Mississippi Delta provide an opportunity for his brush to roam free, dashing out passages of gold and green with a rhythm that energizes the land’s flatne…
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Dabbing is an incredibly versatile painting technique that most artists utilise, from applying tiny areas of rough texture to decisively dabbing entire paintings. In this article, I define the technique by looking at key examples from art history – from the Dutch Golden Age, the Japanese mid-Edo period, to Les Nabis in Paris. Then I demonstrate how to apply dabbing to your own works, in oil, acrylic, ink and watercolour paints. Articles in the Techniques Series define the meaning and context of art making processes and give practical tutorials on how to work with them.   The Dabbing Technique for Painting Definition: Dabbing refers to the application of paint or ink to a surface using a repetitive vertical hand motion. The media is bounced, pressed or touched onto the surface without linear movement or hand gesture, giving a diffused effect. Dabbing may be achieved with brushes, rags, or palette knives.  What is the Effect of Dabbing? Paintings made with dabbing may have a diffused quality, where the artist has intentionally foregone linear or painted mark-making. It’s perfect for applying the texture of naturalistic elements like clouds and foliage, building up patterns, and for realising subtle tonal effects like …
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In this article, I explore the techniques used in Tonalism by looking at the qualities of artworks from the movement. Among its leading figures were American painters such as James McNeil Whistler and George Inness. I then demonstrate how to create your own Tonalist works in painting and drawing media. Articles in the Techniques Series define the meaning and context of art making processes and give practical tutorials on how to work with them.   Tonalist Techniques in Painting and Drawing Definition: Tonalism refers to artworks with a restricted palette of colours, which exist within a narrow variation of dark tones. These muted palettes lend themselves to nocturnal scenes, suggesting dusk or dawn, often depicting the landscape or people. ‘Tonalism’ refers to both the painting technique and the late 19th-century American art movement that originated the term.  What is the Effect of Tonalism? Tonalism has a contemplative, quieting effect, with its muted palette and sombre tones evoking the quiet stillness of dusk. Tonalist works often evoke a feeling of loneliness, as if you have come across the dying light on an evening walk, or seen another person absorbed by their own thoughts at the end of the day. …
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Award-winning pastelist Judith Kadzym Leeds loves people—and has always loved drawing them. She began as a child by drawing her parents and grandparents. Today, she’s still inspired to create portraits of meaningful people in her life, as well as those…
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Where the Light Dances (acrylic, mixed media, and tree bark on canvas, 24×36) by Chantal Bourque took Third Place in the AcrylicWorks 12: The Best of Acrylic competition. To Quebec artist Chantal Bourque, winner of the Third Place Award in this year’s …
In this article, I explain the pointillist technique by looking at works by the artists who created it – Georges Seurat and Paul Signac – and others who embraced it, like Anna Boch and Lucie Cousturier. And then I demonstrate how to achieve the pointillist technique in your own work, using oil and acrylic paint, pencil, and pastel. Articles in the Techniques Series define the meaning and context of art making processes and give practical tutorials on how to work with them.   Pointillist Techniques for Painting and Drawing Definition: Pointillism is the application of small dots of pure colour that form a complete image when viewed from a distance. The technique relies on optical mixing, where instead of combining colours on the palette, our eyes merge the adjacent dots to reveal form, value, and space.  What is the Effect of Pointillism? When pointillism is executed well, it conveys to the viewer that the artist has a deep understanding of colour. These works often use complementary colours to create contrast and visual interest. And they have soft transitions between tones by diffusing the dots of one area with those nearby. Since these artworks rely on optical mixing, the …
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Tired of getting lost in the overwhelming details of portrait painting? Artist Ilene Gienger-Stanfield offers a refreshing solution
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