 Painting in monochrome helps artists focus on the fundamental aspects of visual structure without the distraction of color. It strengthens understanding of value relationships, contrast, and light distribution. This approach improves control over tonal transitions and spatial depth. It also enhances accuracy in rendering form, volume, and perspective. By simplifying the visual information, monochrome painting allows for clearer analysis of composition and balance. It is an effective method for studying texture, edges, and brushwork. Additionally, it serves as a strong foundation for later color work, ensuring that the underlying value structure remains stable and consistent in more complex paintings. I highly recommend doing a monochrome painting sometime. Noticed the below images do not have bright highlights or super dark shadow.       
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• No need to mix Gamsol and Galkyd Lite to create an oil out • Can be used as a primer for board, instead of gesso. (But you can't apply an acrylic layer over it. Any underpainting or colored tinting before painting must be done in oils. • Made of safflower oil, so less odorous and safer for chemically sensitive people • Dries in a semi-gloss sheen rather than high gloss. • It is a "lean" layer, so thicker paint can be applied over it   (Sidebar: Notice how they always display tubes of paint upside down? This way, when you squeeze paint out of the tube, you won't get a lot of oil first.)
If you're painting from photos, why not take photos with a fisheye filter or wide-angle filter? Or imagine your subject in a swirled state rather than predicably static, and paint directly from your imagination. I enjoy Rob Pointon's paintings above, and it made me think of how artists throughout history have distorted images to create new and exciting effects. Movements like Cubism, led by Picasso and Braque, fractured perspective to reveal multiple viewpoints at once, while Expressionists, such as Edvard Munch, exaggerated form and color to convey psychological intensity. Surrealists like Salvador Dalí twisted reality to explore the subconscious, merging dream logic with the real world. Abstract artists, including Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, abandoned literal representation entirely, using shape, color, and gesture to evoke mood and meaning. These distortions often reflected broader societal shifts—industrialization, war, existential uncertainty—offering new ways to see and feel the world. Rather than mere imitation, modern art became a language of transformation, allowing artists to reinterpret reality, confront truth, and provoke thought. In distorting the familiar, they opened doors to deeper understanding and imaginative freedom.
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Patrick Howe, Artist, Author and Educator Seattle, WA. Contact: [email protected] |
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