Impressionism

Impressionism is a style of painting that began in Paris, France in the mid-1800s. Unlike artists before them, the impressionists painted most of their paintings outdoors and liked to portray natural subjects like trees, fields, and oceans. Impressionists would often take their materials outdoors and paint what they saw. This is called painting “en plein air.”

When impressionists painted pictures of people, they made them look like people you would see everyday. Rather than painting religious figures or royalty, impressionists painted people like the local tavern owner, a girl eagerly awaiting the beginning of a play, or workers resting in bales of hay. They often used their own family and friends as subjects in their paintings.

Before the impressionists, painters usually placed the main subject of their painting in the center. It was the first thing the viewer looked at and the background was not nearly as important. Before the impressionists, the main focus was, more often than not, placed in the middle of the painting. Impressionists often put more emphasis on the scene than on the person or main subject of the painting. To do this, they painted the main subject off to the side rather than in the center of the painting. An impressionist painting looks more like a photograph in this way. A photograph captures not only the main subject, but everything around the subject and everything in the photo is important. Photography was just becoming popular in the mid-1800s and influenced the way the impressionists looked at things.

The style was called impressionism because the artists were not as exacting about painting a realistic picture. They used many short brush strokes, applying paint thickly, to create the idea, or impression, of a subject. Vincent van Gogh is a good example of this technique. The paint on his canvases is often so thick it looks 3D. Look at this painting, Starry Night Over the Rhone, and notice the short brush strokes. Also, the painting is so thick that you can see the shadows from the paint. Because of the quick, short strokes, if you stand very close to an impressionist painting and look at it, often the painting won’t look like anything but a bunch of paint blobs. When you back away from it, though, you can see the whole picture.

Another characteristic of impressionist painting is the study of light. The way light changed the shadows and colors of subjects was of much interest to impressionists. For example, Claude Monet often painted in series, making many pictures of the same subject at different times throughout the day and in different seasons to see how the lighting affected his paintings. Look at these paintings of the Rouen Cathedral and see how the lighting changed the colors Monet used.



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Art Supplies: Oil Paints

Until the mid-1800s, artists had to buy the ingredients separately and mix their own paints. This involved grinding colored minerals into pigments and mixing them with oils. When oil paint became popular in the 1500s, some artists made improvements. They added other ingredients to shorten the long drying time and prevent the paint from darkening when it dried.

Today, oil paints come pre-mixed in tubes like acrylics and some watercolors. Colors that used to be very expensive to use because the mineral was rare and expensive, like blue, can now be man-made.

Oil paints are glossy and can be transparent (allowing light to pass through) or opaque (blocking light from passing through) depending on the color you choose. The transparent colors seem to glow while the opaque colors are richer. Oil paints colors are very bright, the brightest of any type of paint.

They take much longer to dry than water colors or acrylics. This is useful because it allows the artist to take paint off the canvas easily using turpentine and a rag. Because oil paints dry through a chemical reaction, they continue to dry (and to change) for years after the paint is dry to the touch. In fact, conservators of art (whose job it is to keep art looking the way the artist intended) consider an oil painting to be in the process of drying for up to 80 years! Click on Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring and you will see cracking across the girl’s face. Next time you visit a museum look for cracks in the paint; you’ll see them everywhere.

Oil paints are different from acrylics and watercolors in that they form a hard shell on the canvas. This shell can crack when the painting is moved and you’ll see fine lines forming through the painting. From the 1500s to the 1800s, it was popular to paint with oil on panels of wood. The wood would sometimes warp though, and this created even more cracking in the paint. To avoid cracking, the paint should get oilier with each layer. This was probably very easy for artists who made their own paints but would be quite difficult for someone today just starting out as a painter.

Oil paints are also harder to clean and will stain if you spill them.

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Book Recommendation: Olivia by Ian Falconer

Olivia, by Ian Falconer is a picture book worth reading over and over. Falconer has created a loveable character in Olivia, both with his words and his beautiful, red, white, and black illustrations. A loud and tireless piglet, Olivia explores her world in a way that makes readers of all ages laugh out loud.

When Olivia visits the art museum she is confused, like many of us, by the Jackson Pollock painting. She decides that she could make that painting, but what she makes is trouble. The book is full of episodes like this in which Olivia learns about life the way only a young child can. This Caldecott Honor Book is the first of a series of stunning Olivia books by Falconer. I recommend them all, though they do not all relate to art and so cannot all be featured on this website.

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Create Your Own Jackson Pollock Painting

Looking at Jackson Pollock’s art makes a lot of people want to try it for themselves. Make sure to get permission before trying this.

Materials Needed:

1 Queen Size Flat Sheet (any color will do)
3-4 Buckets of Paint in Different Colors
Plastic Cups (one for each color paint)
1 Large Paintbrush
1 Paint Stirring Stick
1 Bucket of Water (for cleaning your brush and stir stick)

This is a messy project so be sure to wear old clothes and work outside. You should still lay out a drop cloth or newspaper to protect your work space. Spread the sheet on the ground and place rocks on the corners to keep it from blowing away.

Choose your first color. Use your brush to splatter the paint across your sheet. Do the same with your stir stick. Notice the difference between the paint splatters caused by each. Fill a plastic cup with paint and pour or drip the color on your sheet. It will be easier to control where the paint goes if you use a cup rather than the whole bucket of paint. When you think you have enough of your first color, repeat with your second color, then your third, then your fourth. If you can still see the sheet beneath the paint, keep adding to your creation.

Remember, Jackson Pollock always controlled the drips and splatters. He always knew where he was putting his colors and how he wanted his masterpiece to look.

When you’ve finished, let your painting dry. This may take a while because you’ve used a lot of paint. How does your artwork compare to Jackson Pollock’s? Was it as easy as you thought it would be?

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If you don’t have the space outdoors to do this project, you can try a smaller version by following the directions below.

Materials Needed:

1 Piece of Thick Art Paper
Poster Paints in Several Colors
Paint Brush
Unsharpened Pencil
Cup of Water
Scissors
Cardboard box


If at all possible, I still recommend going outside. Otherwise, be sure to lay down newspapers to protect your workspace, and avoid working on carpet. Cut off the top and one side of your box. Lay your sheet of paper in the bottom of the box.

Choose your first color. Use your brush to splatter the paint across your sheet of paper. Do the same with your unsharpened pencil. Notice the difference between the paint splatters caused by each. Make sure not be too crazy with your splattering; the sides of the box should catch any stray paint. You can pour the poster paint straight from the cups they came in. When you think you have enough of your first color, repeat with your second color, then your third, then your fourth. If you can still see the paper beneath the paint, keep adding to your creation.

Remember, Jackson Pollock always controlled the drips and splatters. He always knew where he was putting his colors and how he wanted his masterpiece to look.

When you’ve finished, let your painting dry. This may take a while because you’ve used a lot of paint. How does your artwork compare to Jackson Pollock’s? Was it as easy as you thought it would be?

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Jackson Pollock and Lavender Mist

Jackson Pollock was an American painter, born in 1912, who became famous for his enormous drip paintings. He painted in a tool shed where he could lay his canvas on the floor, and drip and splatter paint across it without worrying about ruining the walls or floor.

Rather than paint a landscape or a portrait, Pollock wanted to paint action. When you look at one of his drip paintings, your eye wanders across the entire canvas in constant motion. In this way, Pollock achieved his goal; the creation of the painting was active and so is the viewing of the painting.

Lavender Mist, painted in 1950, is one example of Pollock’s drip paintings. Pollock unrolled nearly 10 feet of canvas, chose his colors, and began to drip, splash, and swirl paint onto it. He didn’t buy his oil paint in tubes the way most artists do. Instead, he used gallons of house paint to cover the canvas. In the corner he left his handprints as a signature, just like the cave painters did. What’s really cool about this painting is that Pollock didn’t use any lavender paint. The colors he chose blend together in your eye to make you think that you see lavender.

Click here to look at Lavender Mist at the National Gallery of Art website. Use the red arrows at the top of the page to see close-ups of parts of the painting, including the handprint in the upper right corner. Keep clicking to see pictures of Jackson Pollock painting in his shed.

Then click here make your own drip painting online. Right click to change colors.

Check back tomorrow for a Jackson Pollock project!

EDITED TO ADD: Create Your Own Edible Pollock Painting

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