Painting Negatively

Misty Shoreline
Oil on Canvas Panel
9 x 12 in/22.9 x 30.5 cm
Copyright 2014

I'm not talking about painting when you're in a bad mood.

I'm talking about using a painting technique that can help you improve or overcome what  may have become an issue, that is, boredom and dullness in your brushstrokes.

When I say painting negatively, I simply mean that you paint around the focal point or major elements before painting those objects. In other words, rather than painting the object, you paint what's around it first.

For example, rather than painting a tree or trees in a treeline first and then painting the sky around the trees, you do it in reverse order. You paint the sky first, and then go back and paint in the tree(s).

This may take a little getting used to because it's more intuitive to paint an object first and then paint the background. But once you learn to plan ahead, you may find this gives a new look and feel to your paintings.

In today's image, I painted the sky and sea(coast) first. Then I came back and painted the land.

Try it, you may like it. If nothing else, it will make you think more about how you control your brushwork on edges. And that's a good thing.