Direct Painting: 10 Simple Guidelines to Colorful and Clean Paintings

After writing about Direct painting methods I thought that a list of simple guidelines for direct painting could be helpful.

Wayne Thiebaud. For a really great blog post about Thiebaud I recommend Alberti's Window. 

Direct painting can be done in wet stages, akin to indirect painting, or in one go; it all depends on the style of the artist. For a beginning artist, it can be frustrating to figure out your own style. Knowing some basic ideas as to how to navigate a painting can really help you create your own style.

1. Beginning with a colored ground can help create a complete color harmony throughout a work.

2. Before starting a painting, decide where you want the most detail, in your lights or your darks. The more detail an area has, the more the viewer's eye will linger. In order to keep your direct painting as fresh as possible, simplify either your darks or lights (depending on the mood and tone of your painting).

• In most paintings the darks are left simple with thin applications of paint; however, there are works where the darks are more important. Note the above and below paintings by Wayne Thiebaud. The difference is slight, but in the majority of his paintings his shadows are the more important, more interesting part of the painting. To see if an artist is emphasizing their lights or darks, squint at the painting (I have to close one eye and squint): the overall details will blend and you will be able to see where the emphasis is. Notice that when you do this to the above and below paintings that all but the donuts emphasize the shadows. 

3. When discovering your own process, practice using different "painting paths" until you find your own groove.

Noah Buchanan 

• Path 1: Painting from Dark to Light 
• You will sometimes see people painting from light to dark (as with watercolors), but dark to light is the more common and easier way to paint with oils. Here a darker ground can be utilized to help establish the deeper tones of your work. This can help keep your darks dark, colorful, and clear of mudding color mixtures.
• Note that in the above image the darks are not finished, merely that they have been established before the whites were painted in order to help create adequate contrast. 

• Path 2: Painting from Midtones to increased Contrast  
• This allows for more complex paintings where lights and darks are of more equal importance. It can also allow more flexibility, especially when your image has neither intense darks or lights.

The below video (I am sorry about the music, again) shows the artist utilizing both paths. In the beginning of the video he quickly, though minimally, establishes his darks and then about half way through starts using his midtones as a base before moving into highlights and shadows. 

4. Remember that thin, transparent layers recede back into the picture plane while thick, opaque layers advance from the picture plane towards the viewer.

5. Remember warm vs cool. If your shadows are warm, your lights should be cool; if your shadows are cool, your lights should be warm. This can be applied very subtly or starkly.

In the above image you can see the cool light with warm shadows in Michelangelo's Delphic Sybil and the warm light with cool shadows in Hikari Shimoda's Children of this Planet 9. Wayne Thiebaud also primary used warm light and cool shadows.

6. Create interest by varying the length and size of your brush strokes.

• If you want more defined strokes with heavier paint application, use filbert or hog bristle brushes

7. Avoid muddy colors by limiting a mixture to 2-3 oil paints and never mix complements.

8. Use one brush for lights and another for darks to keep color clean and bright.

9. Less is more.

• Begin with more general gestures versus tight details. 
• Begin with limited color blending. 
• Paint highlights last. 

10. To help make your shadows simple and convincing, look for the color of your background as well as the compliment to split compliment of your main mass tone. Light application of these colors will help to more easily create a feeling of three dimensionality.

Notice that in the above image you can see the dark purple compliment as well as the darker gray of the background in the shadow.

Learning how to execute a clean, bright direct painting can at times be a frustrating experience. Keeping these guidelines in mind can help while starting out. To read more about other guideline recommendations read here and here.  

For more about painting check out my main Tips and Techniques page.

Direct Painting: Alla Prima vs Wet-on-Wet vs En Plein Air

Direct painting refers to a classification of methods that are done when all of the painted layers are completed while the paint is still wet. Direct painting generally requires more confidence of brush stroke and concentration, and can be done in stages or completely free-hand.

Here I will be describing the basic types of direct painting and providing some videos highlighting each technique (I apologize for the music in some of the videos).

Alla Prima

Carol Marine                                                                                John Singer Sargent

Literally meaning "at first attempt," this method is when a painting is completed within one painting session. Alla Prima tends to have a freer brush stroke and a more painterly feel. Colors remain largely unblended and maintain a bright, spontaneous look.

Wet-on-Wet

This direct method can be done in one session or in multiple, as long as the layers remain wet. Wet-on-Wet is similar in process to the Alla Prima, however its objective is to have a more naturalistic and less painterly feel. Colors are softer, more blended, and applied in thin applications.

En Plein Air

Monet

Meaning "in open air," this method is when a painting is done completely outside, usually in Alla Prima. Alla Prima is more favorable due to changing light conditions and a faster drying time from being outside.

For more about painting check out my main Tips and Techniques page.

Direct vs Indirect vs Combination Painting: Differences, Terms, and Artists

Understanding the strict difference between Direct or Indirect Painting will help you create your own painting method and style. Here we will be covering the terms, along with a few examples of those who used the different methods. Each method will be covered in more detail in their own, individual posts.

Direct Painting 

Sargent, Self-Portrait (detail), 1907     Monet, Woman with Parasol, 1875                    Vincent Van Gogh, Room at Arles, 1889 

The Direct Painting Method is referred to by many names: Alla Prima, En Plein Air, Wet-on-Wet, Impressionistic/Impasto, etc.

The basic idea is that a true Direct Painting is finished while all layers are still wet. This can be done in one session or several, as long as the different layers are worked into wet, versus on top of dried layers. Direct painters who paint over several sessions prefer their paint to remain wet for several days in order to work as long as possible. Two mediums that allow for such a length of time are poppyseed and safflower oil.

The Daily Painting movement are artists learning to be strict direct painters. Direct painters tend to have more spontaneous, colorful, and effortless (looking) works. If you are an artist who would like to have more color and freedom in your works, I highly recommend checking out Carol Marine's blog, as well as her book, Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often in order to become a more Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist.

Below is a short video from the Web Art Academy talking about Direct Painting, as well as a great demo by David Kassan.

Indirect Painting 

Raphael, Madonna of the Meadow, c. 1506    Titian,  Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-1523          Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego, late 1630s

Indirect Painting is done in stages or layers, with each previous stage dried before continuing.

The basic stages to Indirect Painting are:

1. Imprimatura or Ground 
2. Underdrawing 
3. Underpainting / Dead Color  
• Brunaille 
• Verdaccio 
• Grisaille 
4. Overpainting 
5. Semi-Transparent Glazes

This is the "classic" method to oil painting, also called the Flemish Technique. Name any Northern or Southern Renaissance or Baroque painter and this is the way they painted. 

Note: You will sometimes see people refer to the "Seven Steps of the Flemish Technique," they just break my own steps 4 and 5 into two additional steps. 

Combination Painting 

To be fair, most artist are a combination of the two. Sargent was one artist who would paint the majority of his work directly, allow it to dry and then do final color-correcting glazes over the top. Some other famous artists who used both methods were Rubens, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt.

Again, each method will be covered in greater detail in separate posts. For more about painting check out my main Tips and Techniques page.