4 Tips for Looser Paintings
When I say “paint looser” what image comes to mind?
Maybe it’s an artist standing over her surface, slinging paint. She works quickly and purely on instinct. She comes up to breath and the painting is finished. And oh it looks perfect. Perfectly effortless and bold.
But hold on, say guests on the show.
Loose painting is much more than fast decisions and casual brush marks. And if you want to paint loosely, here are four things you’ll want to keep in mind.
How to Paint Looser Tip 1: Have a Solid Plan
Again and again artists on the show say that the key to loosening up your painting style is having thought through your steps before you begin.
Why? Because nothing makes us tighter and more controlled than indecision and fear. By taking the time to figure out a plan, you’re lessening the number of unknowns that will trip you up in the painting and you can focus on the wonderful feeling of paint on canvas or paper.
Julie Gilbert Pollard (Ep52) does a four-step sketch before she sits down to work on her larger compositions. That way she can let the watercolor flow because she’s not accidentally letting paint dry trying to figure out what goes where.
“The plan of attack that you establish by doing a value study is so important. That's what really allows you to paint fast. You're not just painting haphazardly. You have a goal. You have a plan.” -Andy Evansen
And Andy Evansen (Ep.12) always does a value study before jumping into his primary painting. That way he knows his hierarchy and has value confidence.
Sarah Sedwick (Ep.22) does studies and then even takes the additional steps of premixing all of her major colors so she can focus on brushwork in the painting itself.
These professionals aren't doing this because they love adding arbitrary steps to their process and wasting time. It’s because they understand the direct relationship between planning and loose work.
How to Paint Looser Tip 2: Create a Solid Underdrawing
This can feel like an overwhelming task to a beginning painter. However, starting your painting with a solid, semi-realistic drawing will make all the difference in painting looser.
This may seem counterintuitive but here’s why this matters: Loose paintings are built on a solid structure...which you then bend. You want your viewer's eye to look at the scene and think, “Oh, that’s a loose floral,” which it can do more easily if there is some realism to the drawing.
If your viewer can’t tell it’s a floral, that moves out of loose realism and more into abstraction. Which if that’s your goal, fantastic!
But if your goal is loose realism, you need to be able to start with the realism part and then loosen it up.
A solid drawing also gives you the confidence that you know where everything goes. You don’t have to then make those decisions in the painting and instead you can focus on the aspects of the painting process that make the painting looser and more free flowing.
Tip: Even if you are a beginning artist, there are ways to create stronger drawings to paint on. And you might be surprised at how many artists don’t free hand their drawing. They know the drawing is just too important. You can use tracing paper and outline your drawing onto your board. Many artists will also project their image onto their canvas or watercolor paper. If you want to free hand it, you might also use a grid to get your drawing onto your paper.
How to Paint Looser Tip 3: Paint Like the Eye Sees, Not Like a Camera Sees
You might feel a pull to paint in every object and shape you see in your reference photograph. “It’s IN the reference,” you hear yourself saying.
But hold up. The way the eye sees is different than the way the camera sees, says Ian Roberts, Ep.36. And if you want to paint more loosely, you’ll want to start taking a cue from your eyes.
Here’s how your eyes work: When you look at an object, your focus goes to that object. Everything around THE THING you’re looking at, gets blurry.
If your goal is to paint loosely, that’s how you’ll want to translate your reference photo. To do that, choose a focal area and then make everything less visually important.
This means taking advantage of the three types of edges, hard, soft and lost. And making sure that your work has an abundance of soft and lost edges as part of the overall design.
How to Paint Looser Tip 4: Put Away Your Small Brushes
When you’re first starting out, you may buy small brushes. You may not even know they are small. Brushes are kind of expensive and you can always use them to fill in space.
But those small brushes may be keeping you from painting as loosely as you’d like to.
Artists on the show - where looseness is the goal - suggest using the largest brush possible for as long as you can.
“The less you say, sometimes, the more involved the viewer gets, because the viewer has to put themself into there and make some decisions about what it is you're trying to say. And that gets them visually involved.” - Mark Mehaffey
Even seasoned artists struggle with keeping details out of their work or using them sparingly, and keeping your hands busy with a large brush can help you help yourself.
Then at the end with conscious consideration, pick up a smaller brush and do your finishing detail work.
The Power of Loose Paintings
There is something magical about a painting that has a sense of freedom to it. It can feel as if the artist just sat down and dashed something off.
But that freedom often comes from an artist who understands that loose paintings aren’t just born, they are created.
The next time you sit down with a loose painting in mind, try some of the above tips to see if they can help loosen up your final piece.
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