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Everything I know about painting.  My husband is taking private art lessons. The instructor facilitates the entire process of making an oil painting. Each week she assigns a sequential activity that brings him closer to completion. This approach makes painting a picture less overwhelming. It also allows my husband to absorb a particular technique or principle. Yet, often he will comment that painting is really hard for him.

I usually say something supportive.  I have neglected to tell him that painting is hard for me too. I often struggle. But, along the way, I have developed a process that makes painting less overwhelming and that utilizes some reassuring principles.  So on a recent occasion, after my husband wrestled with his weekly assignment, I offered comments on how I approach a painting. My purpose was neither to deter him nor detour his course.  

I said something like “concentrate on one thing at a time.”  This advice mirrors his instructor’s. I then made some suggestions which may be at odds with his teacher’s method, but maybe not.  

• My first thought was about going from large to small.  I recommended that he begin by developing the largest shapes with broad strokes using very big brushes. The small stuff and details would emerge.  A painting should not be like a coloring book, where everything is delineated in equal focus.  
• I also reminded him of the oil painting principle of going from dark to light. The mid-tones and lights would come later, allowing the reality and character of the subject to emerge. 
• And, finally, I offered the standard oil painting dictum of “painting fat over lean.” With traditional oil paint, one paints a thin layer, possibly with mineral spirits, and then builds up the painting with progressively heavier layers.  This approach,  I presume, also applies to water-soluble oils, which my husband uses. This process not only respects the characteristics of the paint, but allows nuances to emerge.

Do you see a pattern? General to specific. Large to small. Thin to thick. Don’t force the image. Trust the process. The painting will happen.  That’s what I know about painting.

Note…Today’s painting of Paul on an aluminum panel. I missed some spots and the aluminum shines through.  But I did try to do everything I know about painting.