Monday, February 26, 2018

"Painterly"

“Painterly”

This 1927 oil painting, “Wee Annie Lavelle”, by Robert Henri caught my eye at the local Hunter Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. From a distance the right hand side of her face looked detailed. A close look reveals surprisingly large brush strokes. For me, this process has always seemed magical. 


While I was a student at Art Center College in the early 1970’s, our instructors Lorser Feitelson and Harry Carmean used the word “painterly” to describe the use of large brush strokes to enhance the illusion of detail as seen from a distance.


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