Focus On Art Techniques: Glazing, Scumbling, Blending and Alla Prima

What are the main oil painting techniques? The beginner may find the list confounding: glazing, impasto, alla prima, scumbling, tonking, and sfumato. What do they all mean? When should I use each? In a nutshell, art technique describes paint application. – how the pigment is applied. Whilst drawing, and composition play a part, the next step is the oil pigment. How does the artist transform a concept into a real painting? The answer is when the first brush mark is laid to canvas. In other words, the art technique.

A Balance of Impasto or Glazing Methods

In fact, there is no wrong way to apply paint The main art techniques can be combined and boundaries pushed. Scopes for experimentation are endless.

This hub page provides the path forward. Find articles on this blog to discover ways to make a painting reality. The mastering of various techniques enables the artist to control texture, colour intensity, mood and the overall look of a painting.

A Choice of Art Systems to Choose from

From these art practices, creative options expand. It is time to explore traditional and modern painting methods, from transparent glazes to broken pigments and even practices of the Old Masters, such as sfumato.

Why Technique Matters in Painting

Poor drawing, art materials or colour choices are sometimes not the source of a problem, but how the paint is applied. Think of muddy colours, overworked paintings or using too much paint. The problem might even be fear of venturing outside the artist’s comfort zone. Testing the boundaries of paint application always pays off.

A Choice of Artist’s Tools on Offer

Brush choice is often the first applicator artists think of when beginning a painting. Their shapes, springiness and worn sables influence paint marks. The brush does more than simply carry paint to a surface. They are the transmitter of the artist’s intent and energy. Some paintings materialise as loose, expressive marks, while others convey control and precision.

Glazing for Rich Colour and Depth

How thick should the paint be? How many layers? Palette knives with wedged edges are ideal for impasto and scratching through. This brings a wider choice of tools to consider spoons, toothpicks or even an old fork for sgraffito effects can be used.

The French Impressionists used alla prima, scumbling and impasto to heighten atmosphere. Often painted in one layer, the painting becomes like a time capsule of the day’s atmosphere.

On the opposite scale, is glazing. This remains one of the oldest art techniques available to painters. By applying thin transparent layers over dry paint, high colour richness, detail and depth can be built.

Translucent Layers in Oil Painting and Sfumato

Glazes darken shadows, enrich colours and heighten luminous effects that are difficult to achieve through one paint layer (known as alla prima). Many of the Old Masters practiced glazing to create realistic skin tones, highlights and smoky transitions of colour. Soft blending in this fashion is known as sfumato.

This is where artist mediums come in: linseed oil, alkyds, impasto medium or simply the paint neat. This blog explains what each art medium is and how they can be used.

Scumbling for Atmosphere and Texture

So, where glazing relies on transparency, alla prima and scumbling is the opposite. Both use broken paint layers to show the underpainting or even the gesso layer itself. The artist doesn’t have to cover the complete art surface.

Impasto, alla prima glazing and blending describes the full spectrum of oil painting technique. Between them, a vast array of painting styles can be achieved from a fresh, vital feel, to smoothness and high detail. Only on closer view can the brush marks be seen, which can equal the smoothness of an airbrush.

When is the Painting Finished?

With these aims in mind, the obsessed artist could stifle the life out of a painting The question arises, when is the painting finished? While colour transitions create realism, excessive blending may leave a painting looking overworked. Understanding when to blend and when to work roughly is key to creating the effects sought after. And above all, when to stop.

An Array of Art Applications

In summary art techniques provide the springboard for the artist to diversify and explore new ways of painting. Learn about each artistic approach via this blog to break old habits and continue a new creative journey.

Further Reading

Backgrounds for paintings
Cure a childish looking painting that lacks realism
How to make oil painting cheaperBrowse my full collection of articles about oil painting techniques.
Or visit my sister art site to read about the artist's first encounter with oil paints.