Readings

What is a painting?

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface (support base).

In the readings it talks about painting and what it is. The definition says it is to apply pigment, color or anything else to a surface. This is true an artist can use anything to make a button. Buttons, string, other paper, etc can make up a painting. You shouldn't be limited to the paint and canvas to let your work be called a painting.

The readings go into detail about how a painting is more than a painting. Line, composition, color, fields, scale, edges, and format all help create what a painting is. Each play an important role in making a painting. The readings go on to say that even surface, gesture, and process make up a painting. Like Van Gogh's paintings. He showed every brush stroke in his paintings to show more gesture.

But with all this process in painting comes the ability to tell where you messed up, hesitated, or just where you changed your process of painting. The surface of a painting can be read by anyone. When you really look at the painting and study it you can find every little detail in it.