The difference between Pointillism and Stipple

[objectivistartist]

thanks, Dave, for this - thought was the only one left who knew or cared of the difference...

btw, Aaron Bohrod is also at times said to have used pointillism, thru transparent watercolors - but his is more correctly considered as handmade version of the printing four color process, perhaps even more laborious to do......

[Ranger Dan]

I would like to offer an opposing view, and as my work has been used to make your case, I feel I have some say in the matter...

According to Webster's Online:

Origin of POINTILLISM

French pointillisme, from pointiller to stipple,

What I do (in ink) is stipple, apply dots, whether in color or in black ink. That is the verb. What I do is stippling. By definition my color work IS pointillism, but black and white cannot be.

So, imho, stippling can be used to describe b&w OR color works done with dots (or even small strokes). Pointillism can ONLY describe color works done by stippling.

Is that right or did I miss the point?

[Bluegill]

Originally Posted by Ranger Dan

I would like to offer an opposing view, and as my work has been used to make your case, I feel I have some say in the matter...

According to Webster's Online:

Origin of POINTILLISM

French pointillisme, from pointiller to stipple,

What I do (in ink) is stipple, apply dots, whether in color or in black ink. That is the verb. What I do is stippling. By definition my color work IS pointillism, but black and white cannot be.

So, imho, stippling can be used to describe b&w OR color works done with dots (or even small strokes). Pointillism can ONLY describe color works done by stippling.

Is that right or did I miss the point?

That sounds about right to me!

It reminds me of the discussion I've had with people about fruits vs. vegetables. I always maintain that fruits are the seed-bearing parts that grow on a plant, or the seeds themselves; whereas, food-wise, a "vegetable" refers to any edible plant. Therefore, a fruit is always a vegetable, but not all vegetables are fruit.

There...that oughtta be good for another half-page of posts!

[Chovy]

Well I for one am glad of any information on this subject. I've been doing what I thought was pointillism.....but was actually stippling. I too would like to know who decided to differ the terms.Stippling reminds me of when I did stencils in my home. Thanks everyone! Dawn

[manfrommerriam]

I've always heard that Pointilism involved color. Seurat and Serreau were interested in color theory and in particular in the visual effect of placing two colors adjacent to each other and the resulting effective color when the art was viewed from a short distance. On the other hand if someone wishes to call stipple pointilism... so what. It is a fairly common practice.
Lets have fun, Dave

[gpathy]

Dave, Thanks for this piece of information! I didn't know the clear distinction either.