Making Your Mark
It is not complex in itself, but mark making is simply how you put the paint down. When Artist Eric Jacobsen uses the words “mark- making” or “loose paintings”, it is a painting where you enjoy and see the paint strokes. The painting, whether by using a brush or palette knife, has visible paint strokes. Take Eric’s work below as an example. You can see the movement and dimension of the strokes in each painting.
Eric is not talking about paintings that are representational and realistic, but a painting with a looser application of paint and varied marks you can make with a brush: a big wide mark, a skinny line, little dots. In a way, brush strokes become your own signature, your individual mark. For Eric, he has seen many experienced artists experience trouble loosening up with their paintings and letting the paint strokes just be there. Eric advises painters that are struggling with this to use a bigger brush than they are comfortable with, use more paint, and try to put down paint for the image and leave it as it is. Simply put, try to put down paint and leave it alone; describe anything it is you are looking at with as few paint strokes as possible. It is easy to get a basic understanding of marking your paintings this way. But, realistically, it takes a lot of time, discipline and intentionality not to touch the paint once it is on the canvas.
If you are having trouble with values and color, do not worry yet about loosening up your paintings. You want to understand composition and value and color, before you worry about changing the way you paint or trying this new technique. Make sure you have the basics first before you start marking your paintings in a different way than you are used to.
To learn from Eric Jacobsen, join him in his video download series “"A BRUSH WITH NATURE: CREATING LOOSE PAINTINGS"
To listen to Eric and Gabor’s full podcast on “Making your Mark” click here.