PAINTING NEGATIVELY

Character v Perfection - An exercise in painting negatively and how to simplify.
In Saturday’s workshop I was explaining to the students how to paint flowers in the negative sense...it is very easy to get lost in the detail and begin by painting each individual petal.
This is:
a: time consuming
b: fiddly
c: laboured and sometimes lacks character as a result
By seeing past the detail and blocking in the main shape to start with, using big brushes to place unusual shapes and tones….we can be loose with our mark making, creating interesting blends of different colours that we wouldn't choose if painting each petal individually.
When we reform the edges of the flower in the negative sense (trimming it back into shape) we are left with results that are fresh and unusual. It then makes you far more ‘choosey’ about what detail you will add on the top with a preference to keep it minimal and doing ‘just enough’.
We also keep the density of the flower that can so often become too spindly when painted in the positive sense.