Posted on by Ben Lustenhouwer

In portrait painting: be generous with paint

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Dare to use paint! 

In this portrait I used a lot of paint in the boy´s face and to obtain a nice contrast, little paint in the background.
In this portrait I used a lot of paint in the boy´s face and to obtain a nice contrast, little paint in the background.

Many novice painters are stingy with paint. OK, paint is expensive, but I think the fear of getting stuck in a general muddle of paint is the biggest malefactor. Yet the power of oil paint is in bold, pure brushstrokes, and as little as possible mixed colours.

So my motto is: be generous with paint!

One Reply to “In portrait painting: be generous with paint”

  1. Too true! Will try and be more generous with the paint. You have been very generous with your help and comments. This website is a great revelation and I’m grateful to you for having set it up. Very inspirational!

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