Home Forums Explore Subjects Plein Air Frustrated Trying To Paint "loose"

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  • #987731
    flashback max
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        I look at the great works a lot of people on here do, I see some of the terrific work that’s around on the web and I get depressed because I have a real hard time letting go when I paint. I just happened upon this website http://www.johnhughesstudio.com/ I want to paint like that!!!

        I try to paint loose and easy like that but it never comes out with the ending I want. It just doesn’t look right to me. I try and make things too exact(that’s a whole new can of worms). However my exact doesn’t necessarily look that great. Combine the two and it’s very unattractive. Does anybody have any tips to help me fix this problem?

        Max
        Flashback is a type of fishing fly :D

        http://maxrootart.blogspot.com/
        #1112489
        jjerryc
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            Well, Max, you’re likely to get alot of interesting opinions on this one. I believe that in order to paint loosely, first you must learn how to paint in a more controlled manner. This is how you’re going to acquire the skill and confidence to lay down meaningful colour and tone. And drawing is of utmost importance. Draw, draw, draw! Just my opinion. Jerry

            #1112484
            cjorgensen
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                Hi!

                I am struggling with the same thing, but I will tell you what I am learning so far.

                Before I painted “artistically”, the only experience I had was for painting things like walls and fingernails: you stroke the brush over and over, back and forth, in the same place, and it looks good enough. This is the exact OPPOSITE of how to do artistic painting.

                To look “loose”, you have to put it down ONCE and correctly, and then leave it. Any touching up kills it. This means you have to go slowly and deliberately. Loose looks fast, but as far as I can tell, it is slow. I had watched a Richard Schimd video that I rented from SmartFlix, and that’s how he did it.

                Also, for me, when I started painting, I painted with the “fingertips” of the brush, like you do with house painting brushes. My paintings looked very “beginning”. Now, in order to get random, interesting strokes, I use the flat side of the bristles, sort of the “palm” of the brush, and I smear it around like a kindergartener. But again, you can only each stroke ONCE. Mix the color, hold it up to the spot to make sure it is correct, and then lay it down slowing and deliberately, in a careful, calligraphic stroke.

                I recently painted a picture that I posted in the landscape forum. I have been painting from photos since the only time I have to paint is after dinner. I randomly, but artistically, laid down a burnt sienna wash, and then I very carefully indicated where the elements were going to go. (I put that down also with thin burnt sienna strokes.) Then I very carefully and slowly put in each colored stroke, going from the back forward, using copal to help things dry quickly. I learned that letting a little bit of the warm transparent underwash peek through is a nice contrast to the cool, thick, opaque paints on top. This is 11×14, and it took 4 hours.

                http://carolynspaintblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/lake-casitas-house.html

                The more I try this at home, the more I will understand it and be able to apply it when I go outside for plein air paintings.

                Here is another one that I painted from a photo of a sunset. The strokes were loose, but VERY carefully put down. Can you see the burnt sienna peeking out through the clouds?

                http://carolynspaintblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/gray-clouds-and-sunset.html

                Here is the first time I got the hang of it: a little 6×8 plein air.

                http://carolynspaintblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/plein-air-carpenteria-bluffs.html

                I re-read my blog on this one, and I see that I learned it from a book I have by Bob Rohm called “The Painterly Approach”. So go the library and pick it up. :)

                #1112479
                Wyn Easton
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                    There is a big difference between loose and sloppy.

                    Bob Rohm has a new book; “The Painterly Approach”.
                    I think that is really the way you want to go.

                    There are no shortcuts. Study, draw, paint, repeat.

                    A fine painting is a fragile gift sporadically given when you least expect it. - Charles Sovek
                    My Blog :) My Web Site
                    C&C always welcome
                    Wyn

                    #1112485
                    cjorgensen
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                        Wyn got his in while I was editing mine. :) He knows what he’s doing. :)

                        #1112477
                        RandyP
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                            Hey Max,

                            Good advice here already. I think that to paint in a “loose” style, you have to be confident about the strokes you place. Being timid and unsure leads to rework and fixing, which kills the effect. The only way to get there is to practice, practice and then practice some more. It helps to get your mindset away from being afraid to fail. If you can learn to let go and not worry about messing up a painting, you will be more relaxed and be more expressive in your brushwork.

                            Randy

                            #1112481
                            flashback max
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                                Hi Everybody, great insight!! Thank you.

                                Wyn, I went out and bought his book tonight. You hit that one on the head!! That is exactly what I’m looking for. It won’t happen overnight, but thank you for pushing me in the right direction!! :thumbsup:

                                Max
                                Flashback is a type of fishing fly :D

                                http://maxrootart.blogspot.com/
                                #1112478

                                >>>I always thought “loose” was just a matter of forgetting to bring my glasses.
                                >>>However, If you feel plagued by your need to be precise and detailed, (and this is not really a fault) you might think in terms of: Having composed the painting with notes and mini-sketches, (pre-painting it prepares you to fly) quickly and with boldness rough-it in as blocks of united values and your colors using large brushes. Keep singing “I can scrape it off!”. Try doing the whole job with a 1 inch flat. Modify this a little, if you must. Only use small brushes at the very last moment and with them only detail the very focal point of your work. See if that does it.
                                >>>and have fun, Dave

                                #1112491
                                Marcio C
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                                    Max, I sympathize, I’m on the same quest, and proud to say I’ve made some progress. There are some exercises to help you with this: you can make your reference photos “out of focus” as you try to paint, try to paint from memory, use very large brushes or palette knife or an even blunter instrument to apply the paint, paint with a time limit that forces you to rush, etc. Also, you can remind yourself that you can always add details later, and approach your work less seriously at first. Another thing that I found encouraging is to hear that some accomplished artists have evolved a more loose style over time, only yesterday I heard Joseph Zbukvic say on his DVD that he can’t believe how loose his style is now, that he once used to put in every single detail. Well, these were my two cents. Relax and enjoy the ride!

                                    #1112474
                                    Larry Seiler
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                                        Max…

                                        Painting loose well, is like playing a spontaneous guitar solo without knowing before hand what you will play. A description that Eric Clapton tells 30 seconds before he’s about to play his solos. It comes from a growing confidence in the power of the brush.

                                        With anything that is powerful, you have to learn to handle it…harness it.

                                        Here is a link of a post I answered to someone wanting to learn more about painting wet into wet…
                                        https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7544033&postcount=11

                                        …but I think it will help.

                                        Consider the exercise in it that Jeff Mahorney took on literally.

                                        Though I’ve painted 30 years, I challenged myself to these daily one hour studies postcard in size…

                                        Also…here is a brushwork exercise for you to watch, one of a number of videos I have on YouTube…
                                        A brushwork exercise-
                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8ZeSdC5xcs&feature=channel_page

                                        there are about twelve videos in all…which might help.

                                        Thing is…I have a number of friends whose work I admire. I have caught myself on an occasion or two about to start a painting thinking, “hhhmmm…I wonder how so-and-so might go about this?”

                                        You know what? Only Marc can paint like Marc, only Scott like Scott…on and on. The world does not need my imitation of other painters. Only I am best qualified to paint as only I can! Only Max is qualified to demonstrate to the world what it means to be a painter like Max.

                                        You can study and study, paint and paint…but in the end you cannot crawl out of your skin. You cannot be anyone other than yourself.

                                        Now…to become a good painter which is what you should be seeking, is to each time be aware wanting to push yourself a bit more over the top than the last time you painted. Enough in reach for confidence, but enough out of reach to grow. Stretch and push. Deliberate practice that hurts. It hurts because every time there are the prospects of failing. It hurts because practice doesn’t win you accolade, doesn’t bring in the sales. You focus on those one or two things holding you back.

                                        Squint the eyes…see large shapes. See essential shapes. See general color, and limit the values to perhaps four no more than five variations. Work with dark, mid, light and white…and perhaps then a couple halftones within each value. Keep it simple.

                                        When you keep it simple, you focus on strong color and good values. You can get away with saying a lot less if the color and values nail it!

                                        You have to train the mind to pay attention. No brushstrokes happening while you are in a daze…dabbing away as if somehow it helps the painting. Instead KNOW if the stroke is helping…and why.

                                        One exercise is to set an alarm clock nearby. Put out more paint…use a brush just slightly larger than you might otherwise feel comfortable with, and give yourself less time than you wish you would have.

                                        Set the clock’s alarm for perhaps 1-1/2 hours…a panel about 11″x 14″…

                                        Have a very concrete order in mind. First I’ll block shapes in, get rid of the blank canvas. The block in will have a general color and approximate general value. Next I’ll use sky pigment to sculpt forms, trees focusing on negative space…on and on, etc.,

                                        To paint painterly yet purposefully, you have to develop this sense of what comes first, then next, then next. You have to paint a long time so that the brushwork and manner of painting become part of you and over time intuitive. Masterful painterly brushwork is not contrived nor forced.

                                        I am myself working on my second book tentatively called, “Learning to Paint Painterly Realism” …and there are a good number of exercises, but understand when a golfer wants to improve his game…most weekend players will go to the range and settle in on the club they are already pretty good with because they also want to have fun. Deliberate practice hones skill, focuses on areas of weakness. It is rarely fun…it is hard work.

                                        A good book to read on such things is “Talent is Overrated- What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else” by Geoff Colvin

                                        and…the skill to make a thing appear realistic with what appears little effort would not be possible without passion and joy. See the privilege to celebrate life as the painter. Those that view your work need to feel this grabbing hold of life and your incredible passion. They will hang on every brushstroke, dripping with love for life!

                                        Keep painting…and then, paint some more! :thumbsup:

                                        Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
                                        Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/

                                        #1112488
                                        _elio
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                                            Students always see my work and come to my workshops and want to paint loose and bold.

                                            The reality is that most are still struggling with the basics…value, color temperature, and drawing…They then need to rework an area till its dead and “over-worked”.

                                            Loose is a result of having a solid foundation and being able to put the right color in the right place and leaving it alone.

                                            Don’t TRY to paint loose. Looseness will come as your confidence grows.

                                            Simply paint.

                                            #1112490
                                            rsmith.1141
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                                                I’ve spent many hours thinking about this and I’m just starting to realize that it’s all about practice. I can read books and watch videos but in the end I see no real improvements until I paint, paint, paint. The good news is that the more I paint, the more little pieces start to fall into place. If you collect enough of these small pieces, good things start to happen.

                                                Now, if someone can find me an extra 20 years…..

                                                Cheers,

                                                Randy Smith K6RND Comments and Critique always welcome.
                                                Website | Facebook

                                                #1112475
                                                Anonymous

                                                    I would suggest that you forget about making paintings for a little while and concentrate on make studies. Take photos from magazines and paint over them with the object to get the spirit of the photo but allowing yourself to use only one brush (3/4 inch or bigger). You will learn to improvise.

                                                    #1112482
                                                    flashback max
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                                                        Well, I’m happy I have next week off from work, I’m going to need it!

                                                        I truly appreciate everybody’s advice.

                                                        Larry, you got that special something inside of you buddy :music:. I’m going to try my best to really work on getting where I want to be. Thank you :)

                                                        Max
                                                        Flashback is a type of fishing fly :D

                                                        http://maxrootart.blogspot.com/
                                                        #1112480
                                                        Wyn Easton
                                                        Default

                                                            Students always see my work and come to my workshops and want to paint loose and bold.

                                                            The reality is that most are still struggling with the basics…value, color temperature, and drawing…They then need to rework an area till its dead and “over-worked”.

                                                            Loose is a result of having a solid foundation and being able to put the right color in the right place and leaving it alone.

                                                            Don’t TRY to paint loose. Looseness will come as your confidence grows.

                                                            Simply paint.

                                                            BINGO! :clap:

                                                            A fine painting is a fragile gift sporadically given when you least expect it. - Charles Sovek
                                                            My Blog :) My Web Site
                                                            C&C always welcome
                                                            Wyn

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