Painting Techniques

Only a sample – there are principles but there are

NO RULES

Alla prima

A painting done in just one layer

Alla Prima

Richard Diebenkorn

Broken color

Layering paint so that the bottom layers show through

Paul Cezanne

Willem De Kooning

Richard Diebenkorn

Andy Warhol

Stipplingusing the tip of the brush to apply dots of color

Paul Klee

Pointillism

Seurat

Pointillism

Seurat

Impasto

Applying very thick paint so that the brushstroke actually leaves a trail in the paint and these trails create texture and shadow.

Vincent Van Gogh

Philip Guston

Philip Guston

Wayne Thiebaud

glazing

Applying thin coats of paints on top of each other

Morris Louis

Richard Deibenkorn

Helen Frankenthaler

Wayne Thiebaud

scraffito

Putting on a layer of paint and then scratching back through it to reveal the paint underneath

Jean Dubuffet

Jean Dubuffet

Cy Twombly

drybrush

Using an almost empty brush to apply the color

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon

Claude Monet

scumbling

Putting layers of lighter color over layers of darker colors

J.M.W. Turner

Sfumato – or smooth blending

Blending the paint in a naturalistic way

Titian

Eduard Manet

Georgio Morandi

The steps to making a painting

Whether realistic or abstract

imprimatura

Putting down a thin layer of color before painting thicker layers on top of it

The underpainting

Highlights and details are gradually added. Note the colors are in contrast to what the final colors will be.

Color is gradually added and modeled in both thick and thin layers until the final result is achieved.

Another example

http://www.bigblackpig.com/painting/glazing.html

A good site to visit for more information