Day Sixty Three: Afternoon Light by John Francis Murphy
Hello and welcome to day 63 of 100 days of Tonalism.
Today study is 'Afternoon Light' by John Francis Murphy.
An awesome painting by John Francis Murphy today. Seems like we've had quite a lot of Murphy lately. That's okay, because he's amazing. I will be reading some biographical information about John Francis Murphy in today's video narration from the book A History of American Tonalism 1880 to 1920.
Continuing on with our current assay regarding my Tonalist painting process; today I would like to discuss brush technique. As I indicated yesterday it is desirable to use a brush slightly larger than what is comfortable to casually paint with, bigger is better. This gives you more expressive brush strokes. The word 'brushstrokes' is actually somewhat misleading, since there are so many ways you can apply paint to your surface. You can blop it, streak it, daub it, rub it on with a paper towel and, of course you can brush it on with a brush.
It's important to use your brush to accomplish all of these different ways of getting paint onto the panel not just using the brush as a brush. One good way to achieve this is by alternating the way that you are holding your brush regularly while doing your painting. This is a process that is highly intuitive,actually this process could be the most intuitive aspect of painting. Good brush manipulation starts with the desire to be open to using your brush in different ways. Once that is accomplished you need to listen for that interior voice while working and to follow its impetus.
I know I've mentioned the intuitive approach before, but I cannot stress enough how important the intuition is to doing a good painting. Paintings that are done strictly from the intellect tend to be very stiff and lacking in emotion. The primary way to get emotion into your work is through brushwork, and the primary way to have interesting and varied brushwork is by using your intuition to know when to change up the brush.
Intuition is active and vital to so many parts of the painting process. For example: modifying colors, changing the sizing of your brush, direction of your brush strokes and knowing when to stop working, are predominantly functions of the intuition.
It's easy to fly, but to fly well you need to earn your wings and the same is very true of utilizing intuition in the painting process. You must work and practice your art often for that intuition to have an apt vehicle of expression. Waiting for a bolt of inspiration to strike you and suddenly produce a masterpiece is generally not a good idea.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Afternoon Light' by John Francis Murphy; this painting is so moody and evocative. I really love it.
One of the things that I enjoyed the most about doing this study was painting the red in the trees. Also John Francis Murphy is a Master of getting an interesting ground plane in all of his work. The interaction between the greens over the reds is what makes his painting so rich.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Painted after - Afternoon Light by John Francis Murphy, Study by M Francis McCarthy - Size 5x7, Oil on wood panel |
An awesome painting by John Francis Murphy today. Seems like we've had quite a lot of Murphy lately. That's okay, because he's amazing. I will be reading some biographical information about John Francis Murphy in today's video narration from the book A History of American Tonalism 1880 to 1920.
Continuing on with our current assay regarding my Tonalist painting process; today I would like to discuss brush technique. As I indicated yesterday it is desirable to use a brush slightly larger than what is comfortable to casually paint with, bigger is better. This gives you more expressive brush strokes. The word 'brushstrokes' is actually somewhat misleading, since there are so many ways you can apply paint to your surface. You can blop it, streak it, daub it, rub it on with a paper towel and, of course you can brush it on with a brush.
It's important to use your brush to accomplish all of these different ways of getting paint onto the panel not just using the brush as a brush. One good way to achieve this is by alternating the way that you are holding your brush regularly while doing your painting. This is a process that is highly intuitive,actually this process could be the most intuitive aspect of painting. Good brush manipulation starts with the desire to be open to using your brush in different ways. Once that is accomplished you need to listen for that interior voice while working and to follow its impetus.
I know I've mentioned the intuitive approach before, but I cannot stress enough how important the intuition is to doing a good painting. Paintings that are done strictly from the intellect tend to be very stiff and lacking in emotion. The primary way to get emotion into your work is through brushwork, and the primary way to have interesting and varied brushwork is by using your intuition to know when to change up the brush.
Intuition is active and vital to so many parts of the painting process. For example: modifying colors, changing the sizing of your brush, direction of your brush strokes and knowing when to stop working, are predominantly functions of the intuition.
It's easy to fly, but to fly well you need to earn your wings and the same is very true of utilizing intuition in the painting process. You must work and practice your art often for that intuition to have an apt vehicle of expression. Waiting for a bolt of inspiration to strike you and suddenly produce a masterpiece is generally not a good idea.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Afternoon Light' by John Francis Murphy; this painting is so moody and evocative. I really love it.
One of the things that I enjoyed the most about doing this study was painting the red in the trees. Also John Francis Murphy is a Master of getting an interesting ground plane in all of his work. The interaction between the greens over the reds is what makes his painting so rich.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Original painting, Afternoon Light by John Francis Murphy |