It is crucial to learnt brushwork techniques if you are to be an effective painter. This is true whether you are creating realistic, expressionistic or abstract works. When it comes to creating a realistic oil painting it is the textural quality of the brush work that separates a painting from a photograph. If you are creating an abstract work then the brush work is of paramount importance as it is the main mode of expressiveness.
One important brushwork tact in oil painting technique is called impasto. This is where anything that is dark in a painting is painted with dark thin colors and much thicker oil paint is used to apply the lighter hues. This prevents light from bouncing of off the dried brush strokes and distorting the darker areas of the painting.
In general, most courses in brushwork start with teaching you how to hold the paintbrush so that you can create any stroke with it that you want. It is a mistake to hold the paint brush in an unorthodox way because it can slow you down and also distort the look of your images. Brushes also come in different sizes and shapes and can be used for all kinds of different artistic intentions. That is a whole “learn to paint” subject area in itself.
There are also two basic types of brushstrokes that you will have to learn. One type is called control brushstrokes and the other is called freehand brushstrokes. Control brushstrokes are based on traditional ways of manipulating the paintbrush that are known to create certain effects in a painting. Freehand brushstrokes are much different and make it easier to achieve effects such as drawing wavy tree branches or puffy clouds.
If you are creating an oil painting you may want to make the surface very textural. Enhancing the surface with thick and thin areas of paint adds a great deal of visual interest to any oil painting. Glazes over thick brush work can help keep it stiff and intact.
Brush strokes can also be used to help you work from large to small and in essence create a kind of ambience in the background of the painting that can add to its all over charm. This is particularly true if there is a lot of sky, sea or fields in the painting.
Experts say that the most effective brushwork is that which is applied to the canvas with the least amount of effort. That means that no brushstroke is applied randomly and there must always be a plan to what you might ultimately create.