Paint Application and Mark-Making

We've   been talking about brushwork and palette knives, and I want to talk a little about paint application and mark-making.

Paint can be applied with so many different tools. We all started out with finger painting, and brushes seem to be an extension of our fingers, but you can put paint onto a ground with a palette knife, old credit card, sponge, roller, etc. And besides the tools you use, you have options with the techniques. I took the following list of paint application techniques from a Craftsy Post:

1. Dry brushing: This is where you scrub layers of colors on using small amounts of paint.
2. Washing: This is when you apply a thin layer of diluted paint over the colors already applied. The thin veil of color allows the colors underneath to still shine through.
3. Dabbing: For adding texture. Apply thick paint with a stiff bristle brush or a sponge, with a pouncing motion or with quick dabs. Dabbing can be done in multiple layers to build depth.
4. Detailing: This is when you use a smaller, pointed brush to add clean lines and details.
5. Stippling: Creating an assemblage of tiny dots.
6. Spattering: Using a fairly wet brush, you can flick or splatter paint.
7. Palette knife: Like spreading butter.

 

Mark-Making is similar to application in that you can use many different tools, but the goal is to create a pattern, lines, or texture. I use my favorite pair of pointy scissors for drawing marks into wet paint, to show the colors below, building up layers of texture and pattern, then often add lines using crayons or paint markers to help tie parts together and create some order from the chaos.

Here is my latest work, a larger version of my Rock Garden. Notice the mark-making on the bottom part that will become grass eventually, and on the central red and blue areas that will be soil and moss. (I'm using a dramatic underpainting of complimentary colors):

Day one

Day two