Tonight I did a small and quick still life painting I’m calling “Containers”. This painting turned out rather well. The focus was just on the big broad shapes and I didn’t get too much into details, I think this is part of the strength of the painting.
There is something to be said for letting the viewer fill in the details. John Singer Sargent and a lot of his contemporaries knew this well. And I just read a quote from Harold Speed in his book Oil Painting Techniques and Materials.
The fewer strokes of the brush you do your work with, the fresher the painting
I read this on James Gourney’s website, he’s doing a weekly series in which he reviews Harold Speed’s book. It’s very informative and reminds me that this is one book that is missing from my collection and I need to rectify it as soon as possible.
