A similar comparison can be made in
the rendition of the large bank of
shrubs on the right-hand side of the
paintings. Sitting in front of the subject
you can see an incredible amount of
detail and it is necessary to reduce this
by using marks that convey the
impression of what you see but in a
simplified way. There is no right and
wrong way of doing it. In Figure 3 (page
43), which is the approach used in the
first disappointing painting Hillside
Dwelling, Barley Cove, West Cork, 1, the
trees were painted unimaginatively44
MARK MAKING
artistApril 2016 http://www.painters-online.co.ukJohn PalmerGrand Canal, Venice,Paper
Mate non-stop disposable propelling pencil,
4 6in (10 15cm)Anthony Lester Hunt’s Copse in Winter,watercolour with ink on Fabriano Artistico Not,
41 ⁄ 2 71 ⁄ 2 in (11.5 19cm).
Ink was applied using dip pen made from a sharpened matchstick in a holderconfusion between the terms ‘mark
making’ and ‘brushstroke’. If you are
intending to paint, say, a leaf in a flower
painting, and you achieve the shape of
the leaf with one single, skilled sweep
of the brush, then you can think of this
as a particular ‘brushstroke’. The
‘brushstroke’ is used to define a form.
In this article the term ‘mark making’
means something different in that the
marks are not designed to literally
replicate a particular thing but are used
to represent a shorthand interpretation
of what you can see.
So far I have concentrated on
individual paint marks made with the
brush. However, good mark making is
important whatever implement you
have in your hand. The way you deliver
graphite or ink to the paper gives the
character to the drawing. Grand Canal
Venice(above) is a small pencil drawing,
executed quickly and from memory by
John Palmer. The lines are free and the
sketch by this master is so lively and
spontaneous that it almost jumps off
the page. The lines are not used to
simply outline the buildings. John
himself would say that his main
intention was to convey the sense of
what he was looking at.
Hunt’s Copse in Winter(left) is a small
watercolour with ink by Anthony Lester.
This atmospheric piece of work was
completed in front of the subject, using
watercolour and ink delivered by a
sharpened matchstick. The confident‘Marks are not
designed to literally
replicate a
particular thing but
are used to
represent a
shorthand
interpretation of
what you can see’
with generalised shapes and weak
brushmarks. Compare this with Figure 4
(page 43), where the trees have been
shown with more distinctive forms.
Calligraphic marks have been used in
places and these include ‘symbols’ to
represent the shapes that were
discernible in some of the foliage areas.
This personal mark making, inspired by
the subject matter, gave more
individuality to the picture.Terminology
It is possible that there may be some