Introduction
The intention of this essay series is to provide an encyclopedia, a systematic overview, of my theory of the painterly craft. Beginning with nuances of materials, we will move through concepts of abstraction and representation to how to work with historical references and more.
Materials
I. Black & White (Grayscale-Sepia), On Paper
Graphite, Charcoal, CONTé, ink
Satire on Art Criticism1644 | Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch | Source: MetMusuem.org (Public Domain)
Graphite, charcoal or ink on paper has a quaint, understated look. The material itself is subject to modification and destruction easily — this is technically described as “volatility.” Any drop of water — even sweat from the palm — or being bent, scratched or brushed will modify the original work. The sensitivity of the material is key to understanding its usages as a place to practice, or rather, rehearse, or else capture something fleeting.
Because of the low cost associated with the materials in use and, especially in sketches, the artist is free to “doodle,” or — in the case of Rembrandt — at least, experiment, develop ideas. This is a place of truly, “Thinking visually.” Sketches also allow the artist to work in a series that is bound — the sketchbook. This promotes the alchemical process, by which an artist and viewer can perceive variations in themes over the course of a given time period.
Use of this material — by the nature of it’s small scale — is inherently intimate. The audience has a sense of the artist’s hand, mind and heart at work. The glamour of large-scale finished works is not present, and thus the viewer has a chance to relate to the quaint, inner-life of the artist and their work — which always begins as an idea, a fleeting inspiration, or concept.
In late 2019 — at the end of a long run of art criticism — I saw an exhibition of “One Hundred Drawings” at Matthew Marks Gallery that encompassed three centuries of drawing. What I witnessed there was the reality by which Western artists had been exploring the psychology of the unconscious — of the collective soul — through their documentation of notions, mood states, or other fleeting inspirations. The works on paper are the most immediate, direct and humble way of actualizing this process.
II. Color MEDIA on Paper
Ink, watercolor, pastel
Russian Dancer, 1899 Edgar Degas French | MetMuseum.org (Public Domain)
Also a volatile medium, the material must be handled carefully while working, as well as in presentation and for archival purposes. For instance, with colored markers and watercolor, no changes can be made to the work once a mark or application is made, without an apparent mistake being rendered. The material is highly sensitive, and has an earthly, organic quality, even when the subject matter is exalted or psychedelic.
Artists often use these materials to “warm-up” for the full-size work. Distinct from drawing, properly speaking, these mediums offer the artist an opportunity to capture color ideas. Watercolor has a more fluid quality, even when used as an illustrative blocking — the practice of filling in sections of composition with a single color. Colored markers on the other hand have a very direct look, even modern markers which allow for layering
Again, the narrow focus of material and typically smaller scale (up to 20 inches) reads as intimacy. One always has a strong sense of the artist’s closeness to the material — their hand, touch and thoughts. It is as if the viewer was in the room with the artist when viewing these works. However, here, in contrast to Grayscale media, color adds a dimension of meaning, as each color and its respective combinations with other colors presents a quality that could only be inferred, or might be all-together missing in the black-and-white drawing.
The works in color contain a quality which is either emotional, or philosophical in nature, but which, generally speaking, conveys a certain mood, or location — that is, geographic, natural; or else this “location” is completely metaphorical, in the sense of an intellectual domain.
Although possible to complete minimalism (form-based art) and abstraction (color-based art) in these media, the quality of the material and historical references often evokes the following genres: impressionistic landscape, illuminated illustration and modernist gestalt.
Since everyone has used materials like this since childhood, there is a sense of relationship the audience has with the finished work of an especially gifted artist. The looser the work, the more playful, the less understood it will be by general audiences. Additionally, fine art works, accomplished in ink or watercolor, may have similarities to kitsch and illustrative genres, such as animé, psychedelia, or children’s books, which may be an obstacle in the perception of what is really going on in “art” versus commercial or decorative content.
III. Silk-Screen and Woodblock, Cut-Outs
These media are also volatile, and therefore require framing. On top of the frame that will be needed in the end, the media require premeditation and access to technical machines, or, at least, heavy tools. The physicality and linkage to stage-wise working methods push the artist to work with motif, and form, as well as composition in a particularly focused manner.
They are similar to the aforementioned, except there is an increased emphasis on the poster-like quality. The tendency towards Synthetism, or Cloissionism, [Think: Gauguin, Munch] which is quaint, even when vibrant, is often the effect in this approach.
Audiences are typically less familiar with these media than others. Commanding more gravitas than the previously mentioned media, but less than full-scale paintings, viewers have an opportunity to see the artist's mentalité, aesthetic ideas and philosophical goals from a certain perspective — oftentimes slightly a bit more obtuse, “left”, or unexpected.
Color ideas — the so-called palette — are simplified by the technical limitation. This limitation is instructive of the insight that “less can be more,” and that the artist, by interfacing with restraints, excels. This is counterintuitive, as the naive artist may believe that having every color on the palette and every detail at their disposal would be superior: however, just as in life, limitation is reality, and reality is always preferable to the unreal.
These media can often appear decorative, because of the flatness, but true art transcends these associations. Therefore, the medium pushes us to see beyond the manifold advertisements, magazine presentations and other sorts of commercial media, to see the way the artist’s mind is proceeding to unfold, even in a rather two-dimensional-tending medium.
IV. Acrylic paint on canvas
Acrylic paint is based on plastic. It has a shiny quality. When the canvas is heavy cotton, or even polyester, this synthetic-look lends itself well to abstraction, especially the affected look — that is to say, emphasis on brush strokes and material in-and-of-themselves. Because the medium is plastic-based, it is very strong, resistant to water, and dries solidly. This advantage is diminished by the fact that the water-usage and tendency of the plastic medium to shrink often causes canvas stretchers to shrink and warp in irreversible ways.
However, when these combinations are brought into the realm of figuration (representation) and imagination, the result tends to look hoaky, in that the shiny quality reads of an undigested relationship to the content — as if the artist’s imagination is still in the middle school classroom. Although it is possible to overcome the stigma of plastic, with certain media, washes, or else, leveling gels, the material has this inherent disadvantage.
Because of the widespread availability of inexpensive acrylic paint, artists have the opportunity to experiment freely and produce works in great succession. Acrylic-primed, cheap cotton canvas is also very available, making a great pairing for beginners, as well as advanced artists seeking to work quickly.
Because acrylic paint can range so widely in quality, many viewers cannot perceive the difference in plastic paint (acrylic) and other types of media. And it is so much in the artist’s hand and approach that “makes the work” — well, work. For instance, a Basquiat accomplished in acrylic (and oil pastel) can have the impact of a millennia old cave painting, while your neighbor’s Sunday still life in acrylic paint can be less memorable than the toddler’s ad-hoc strikes of the brush on cardboard.
Acrylic paint has become the dominant paint of our collective art activity. It is used with children in their classrooms, and adults in art therapy. Major artists in the 1980s and onwards have used it to great impact, with strong lines, or intense color, which punches hard on Instagram. Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat are the leading figures here, which many commercial “artists” tend to emulate, as they pump-out doodles on canvas, just as factories pump-out new sneakers.
Corridor in the AsylumSeptember, 1889. Vincent van Gogh Dutch | MetMusuem.org (Public Domain)
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, ca. 1662. Johannes Vermeer Dutch | MetMuseum.org (Public Domain)
V. Oil paint on linen
Because of the long history of this medium there is a certain unmistakable gravitas to the material itself. There are plenty of cheap imitations of masterpieces, but the mystery of pigment on canvas, through the hand of the true magician — the alchemist in a state of realization -- is the eternally rare, and therefore valuable, desirable, situation.
In other words, it looms large in costs and in stature, prior to any further work by the artist. This is both daunting for the early initiate, and an area of leverage, pre-loaded impact, for the master. Oil paint’s associations with expense and (chemical and snobbish) toxicity is a sort of barrier to entry. Many believe they can buy student grade oil paint and the colors would be the same, which is a regrettable assumption, as with all things in life, “you get what you pay for” and “quality is everything.” Therefore, the barriers of the exalted oil on linen hold off the undeveloped like the Cherubim with flaming swords protect the Entrance to the Garden of Eden; those who are permitted to enter, are only truly beholding the mystery they are deserving to do so.
The viewer of a work produced in oil paint may be able to perceive the manifolds mysteries of this timeless medium. It is always evolving, living; varnishes can come on and off; the paint hardens, cures, doesn’t dry; it shines, is radiant one way at dawn and another at dusk; hanging an unprotected oil painting in a pool-room will cause the pigments to alter; it is an alchemical, chemical process, ongoing, like life itself. Subject to damage, and at the same time oddly robust; oil paintings are much like human beings. All of this, and more, is in oil paint, itself. It is organic, alive.
Oil paintings can be burned. And if all of the paintings from throughout history were set on fire, that light would burn on and on. But then, the works would only return to what they came from: base matter. Like us, oil paint is biological: made from rare earth materials and other organic matter (oils), and yet filled with mystery. Those who seek the great art — life! — must transform their base matter (animal instincts) into the glory of meaning; oil paintings represent our collective spirit, which strives towards eternal refinement.