Insights
Brushwork and Edges
by Alana Knuff | February 17. 2026 | Edges
Brushes and palette knives are painting tools. Brushes apply light to heavy paint and palette knives render thick impasto application. To emphasize objects in the foreground, thick intense hues are appropriate. To emphasize objects far away, thin muted colors work best. The variety adds depth and interest to paintings.
A painting that has all hard edges appears is like a photograph. Value painters use all soft/lost edges. My preference is a combination of soft and hard edges with the hard edges near the point of interest. An exception to this occurs with portraits. In portraits the eyes are the focal point, and soft edges are a must in rendering eyes.
Color Temperature
Here are some useful bits of information about cool and warm hues. Cool colors recede and warm colors advance. In landscapes as the atmosphere plays with distant views, soft edges and coolness prevail. Putting cool next to cool or warm next to warm flattens the appearance, while contrasting cool next to warm adds depth and dimension. For harmony, pick one temperature as dominate. And remember, that a color is warm or cool only in reference to an adjacent color.
One Caveat
As artists our time is spent primarily with ourselves. The hours fly by unencumbered. Creativity knows not the limits of time and as we become engaged in our work, time, for us, seems to stand still. Others may look upon our solitary seclusion as selfish and to some extent that applies. However, that solitude is the well spring for creative endeavors. There is one caveat however. Gathering with other artists grows us as we exchange experiences. Take time out at least once a month to be with other artists.
The Importance of Drawing
In order to paint a realistic or impressionistic style, drawing is the foundation. There is no substitution for good drawing skills. A fellow artist recently shared an interesting book, The Zen of Seeing by Frederick Franck. In it are quick sketches/drawings from everyday life of the author. Like Andres Zorn, who produced a plethora of etchings as he traveled the world, both drew as a daily exercise. When drawing, one becomes intimate, one with the subject, seeing and recording the nuances that comprise the forms, gestures and energy of the moment.
Create – the artistic life. Find your why.
Why do you create what you create? Artists are often confronted with painting that which seems to sell and that which inspires them to pick up the brush and paint. When asked, why I paint, my response is that painting is my passion that has become addictive. My being becomes intimately entangled with the object of observation. A desire rises during the encounter to draw, paint or sculpt exploring all that I see. It is this energy that gives life to the creation.
Style
Style for me is a state of continual development – not static. When art becomes static, the beauty is lost. New experiences bring new interpretations. The mark of the artist is not lost; it remains part of the painting fabric through subtle shifts in style and technique. The results however break new ground.
Imaging Your Art
Sometimes taking time off from painting brings a fresh return. Painting in my head, creating compositions and envisioning a completed work are pre-requisite for applying paint to a canvas. Perhaps this is day dreaming for artists. If a clear vision is imagined before starting a painting, the results are usually pleasing. The key word is “clear.” Foggy ideas, for me, result in poor execution.
Limited Palette Artist – Anders Zorn
An outstanding artist, a contemporary of John Singer Sargent, was Swedish born Anders Zorn. A friend of Isabell Stewart Gardner, Zorn often received commissions through her and came to America for extended periods of time. He painted three American Presidents – Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. Impressive was his skill creating such wonderful portraits using a limited palette comprised of ivory black, titanium white (possibly lead white), red (probably cadmium red) and yellow ochre. Some speculate he sometimes added ultra-marine blue.
Adding New Colors
Often it is fun to explore new colors and their combinations. This broadens ones knowledge and keeps paintings fresh. The earth colors – raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna and burnt sienna – I found produce some interesting combinations and results. Before starting a painting with new colors, take time to create a matrix showing various combinations and values. This provides an invaluable color guide for painting and can be kept for future reference.
Portrait Painting
Portrait painting is often looked upon as too difficult to undertake. It requires the same observation of form and value that is in all realistic art. However, to achieve a likeness, one must measure and compare to locate the eyes, nose, chin, tilt of the head, rotation creating foreshortening, etc. “Measure, measure, measure” my students echo. From initial sketch through finish details, the artist is required to measure, compare and make adjustments.
What makes a great painting?
As artists we strive to create a new perspective with our paintings, not merely a technical copy of what is before us. All our tools – medium, composition, values, hues, shapes, lines, brushwork etcetera – are called into play. We instinctively sense whether the finished piece is noteworthy, not by the technical aspect, but rather with our emotions. For me, a great painting emotionally connects the subject of the painting with the viewer of the painting.