What Makes Good Brush Work? - Oil Painting Instruction

In this video I discuss what makes for good brushwork when oil painting.
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If you want to learn to paint in oil from my videos, start here:
How to draw/pencil:
• How to Draw - No Talen...
also helpful • Easy Way to Draw Accur...
How to mix and match colors:
• How to Mix ANY Color -...
also helpful • How to Match Any Color...
How to apply paint to the canvas to achieve high realism:
• How to Paint in Oil - ...
FULL COURSE in text form:
www.drawmixpaint.com/classes/...

[@redangrybird7564]

Texture gives the eye a sense of realism, that is very true.

[@jamesprinciotta5440]

Im so glad that you are offering these videos again. Thank You Jim

[@user-wh5mk2ew8m]

whos jim lol

[@Jay-bw3fl]

Thank you for your excellent videos. They have helped so many of us immensely.

[@KLeonardM]

Great video. If that room your sitting in is real and not a filter, you are a lucky man. It's gorgeous...Thanks so much.

[@KEP1983]

Yeah, I think he's been pretty successful. He had a successful portrait business, then transitioned to making art materials. Smart moves by him.

[@verydrunkcat]

its a filter

[@drewliedtke3415]

Green screen

[@Sean-mf3ll]

It’s real

[@alicemagari]

He painted it

[@Blackbettyhd48]

Thank you for the great tips. When Draw Mix Paint drops a new video it makes my day :) Cheers from St. Louis, MO. -Andrew

[@joseluisderivera465]

Wow! Thanks for being very clear and direct explaining the more abstract we paint the more realistic.. I can resume... Specially this days when I'm practicing plea air oil painting... simplifying is extremely necessary when looking for a very realistic style.. Greetings from San Miguel de Allende... where the sunsets are always gorgeous and deserving to be painted!! Thanks for sharing all your helpful art content! Wishing you all the best master!!

[@cadencefarm7005]

Great lesson. Thank you!

[@marshallbuch2593]

Excellent lesson on brushwork! Thanks!!!

[@kentjensen4504]

Amazing. Carder uploads vital pieces of artistic experience directly into our brains. We should all be grateful.

[@TheNortheastAl]

Absolutely. The best instructor on KZbin. He’s educating tomorrow’s masters.

[@jpecci1262]

@@TheNortheastAl Exactly -- his style/methods may not be for everyone, but they are the a great way to evaluate and improve your oil technique what ever it is. It' really a gift.

[@frankdomenico1673]

Great lesson Mark, and good timing1 I really needed that reminder.

[@KEP1983]

Great video, yet again. I was just thinking about this concept from you this morning, and then you posted about it again. Thanks!

[@bethappleton6560]

Thank you so much for this video! I love the reminder of the need for abstraction in painting! I tend to fall into too much detail. I watch your videos frequently for a reminder that the abstraction is important! 😊

[@ElianaLemosArt]

Again, I've learned over the years, to feel deep gratitude for your channel and teachings. Thank you 👏

[@stephenjamison6124]

Mark, another great conversation, challenging as always

[@calvancandy8384]

Thanks for your input Mark. You are a great help to all artists.

[@rafaelhernandez4215]

Excellent demonstration! Thanks for the advice

[@michellelewis3262]

You teaching is so informative. I realize as a beginner I try too hard to copy every detail. It helps to see the examples of what you mean as you describe it. Thank you Also do you have a list of people interested in your palate keeper? I would love to know exactly when it’s available.

[@mike7gerald]

Thanks Mark.

[@mrjanssen3856]

Wowie! Your paint is back? Wonderful news!

[@hopeandguns]

So many years after, the content is still on point! Thanks for the consistency

[@ItsAnGoose]

Very useful advice, much appreciated! It’s amazing how much texture tightly rendered paintings actually have

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Loved the horse decoration piece in Edgar painting

[@valerijohnson2839]

Thank you for an excellent lesson. I never knew about abstract brush strokes. Can’t wait to try it out!

[@40bdg]

Really helpful, thank you!

[@Nutsboss]

Amazing video I thought I didnt even consider that there are such techniques in brush work, was never soemthing that crossed my mind

[@lyceum4177]

Awesome vid, thanks so much

[@lucianonevesvfx]

Master tips, as always ! Thanks a lot!

[@DorimantHeathen]

Thanks as always. I just can't wait for that never dry palette!

[@Thumbkin859]

This was incredibly helpful. This seems like such a small thing. And while it actually is small, the implications are huge! Thank you!

[@nadynau.7467]

Thank you for this excellent video!!

[@Ran_G]

Helpful and entertaining

[@AFAskygoddess]

I'm transitioning from watercolors to oils. This was such a helpful video. Thank you 😊

[@iainwill3493]

Informative and a reminder of things I have failed to do as much as I should. I always come away with something from your videos. You never over complicate good advice. Thanks Mark. 😊

[@Mimmimok]

Thank you for very helpful lesson!

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

Mark...i thanked you many many times....thank you 🙏

[@cc-qu7gz]

Great video! Thank you.

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Exactly Mark along with the brush work, a bit of Palette Knife looks great and has depth and gives "THAT" painting look! Oil painting!

[@mgsBicycleO9]

Great 👏 Always fun to look at master paintings. So much to learn.

[@dorinases]

Thank you very much for all the content and help of your videos.. I appreciate each one of them :)

[@pablo_p_art]

Great video. That's the way I love to paint. A gentle brushwork with touch of texture and no direct blending.

[@luckyman1071]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@mailie6403]

Excellent video.

[@ahmedhumayunrasheed2434]

Loved the grapes painting Mark

[@davidportch8837]

the over simplification point has resonated with me... It's something that I have been guilty of and this video has been very helpful... thank you...

[@carlkligerman1981]

Subbed. Concise, effective teaching. Thank you

[@lanagaylechandler1948]

Very helpful… thank you!

[@Tattookaohsiung]

Thabk you for sharing your knowledge Master

[@QueenAI-ph1xi]

Very helpful thanks

[@LScottArt]

Thank you!

[@karelpapik7678]

Excelent videos. You are the best

[@brucelawson642]

Great😊

[@willercosta]

Excelent!!

[@PsychedelicPigeon]

Do the hokey pokey !!

[@diamondprettygirl]

Looking forward to your never dry pallet box.

[@Joel-ml5bg]

Pokey twisty rolly. No pokey pokey blendy blendy.

[@agustinvisca]

Thanks for the video! I dont see in the web site the box that you say (where the oil dont dry)

[@z1522]

A common shortcoming in less skilled paintings is to reflexively overwork the paint, as if doing a wall, and applying a single hue without stopping to consider varying color slightly, between strokes. This is a sort of "Impressionistic" method which actually goes back to even masters like Chardin and Rembrandt, on close inspection; our eyes blend adjacent colors into an illusion of the color we intend, giving vibrancy, and a sense of constantly subtle, shimmering changes that "breathe life" into the work. A paradox regarding illusions of detail, by implying textures instead of scrupulously rendering them, is that our vision is an extension of our brain, and not just a camera - we assemble images in our mind, and a consistent loosely but accurately placed group of marks "reads" as a face or landscape more naturally than a rigorously tooled set of lines and shapes, when even a slight inaccuracy intrudes on the whole. Part of the magic in paintings and drawings is how the strength of the whole effect depends on the internal consistency of the work, where a visual equivalent to a musical score can be struck wrong with a bad note, i.e. an out of place color, or mark that fails to integrate with those around it.

[@bartchanfer]

Thank you. See U

[@antonioblanco3086]

Thanks a lot. Is abstract brushwork still present in academic artwork? Like neoclassicism

[@rosverlegaspo6752]

This is more of preference and style yes? Visible brushstrokes and surface texture isn't better than smooth blending. The very early masters try to eliminate brushstrokes and paint texture. Jan van Eyck, one of the very first to master oil paints works very blendy. Mona Lisa is another example where the painting is very blendy, extremely smooth and brush strokes are invisible. That is true to almost all Leonardo's paintings and most of the artist in that time. But no one, especially you, are going to say the Jan van Eyck and Leonardo's brushstrokes are bad. It is just the style they work in. There are even some modern artist that works very blendy as you put it. René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Grant Wood and Georgia O'Keeffe are the few that comes to mind. And they do work realistically even if they don't treat their subject in the classical manner. And you seem to be confusing "Texture" with "Broken Colors" and even "Pattern" specially in the sky example. This really comes to preference and style. Maybe blendy just does not work for you, or you can't make it work, or it is just not the look you like; and that is fine. And while I do like abstract too, I don't see it as any better or worse than blendy or poky. They are all capable of making great works in the right hands.

[@tomhighsmith]

It always comes down to your preference, what do you like to see. I especially don't like rules, there are many ways to achieve a good result. The most important thing remains your subject.

[@jonyoder2356]

I totally agree with you on this. I really love being able to get really close to a highly realistic painting and see the attention to detail and exactness. I feel that if identical reference pictures were painted, one in a loose style and one in very exact 'blendy blendy' style that the majority of people would think that the 'blendy blendy' painter was the better artist. It comes down to what the viewer finds fascinating.

[@MatoCreates]

bohoo at blendy and poky ! :D

[@bernarddoherty4014]

Helen Van Wyk from ‘Welcome to my studio’ would call blendy blendy, ‘Dipseedo’…. She used it often. 🤣🤣😀😀

[@nostalgic-one]

I liked the Poky blending better

[@greenatom]

The important thing is to communicate the character of the thing you are painting.

[@Chinornor]

Something i still struggle with, am always tempted to blend every stroke. It is not bad either way if you blend because they are all styles in painting right?

[@JOURN3YMAN]

Does Mark Carder not do glazing? Never see him mention it in his videos.

[@greenatom]

He doesn't. Just gets the values and colors correct on one layer.

[@clownpocket]

I still don’t understand why all the extra work to glaze if you can put the correct color down in the right place first.

[@williamroberts4930]

Im not lucky enough to have any teachers near me, or privy enough to know any online courses or youtube video lessons for my specific ask. Do you have any advice on how to learn through either thought process, or lessons you can recommend that help build a good artist instinct on where to draw the line between oversimplifying and verbatim copying when it comes to making the pre-paint sketching?

[@tenonakin9237]

Could you please make a video on what you like about the brushwork of Rothko?

[@clownpocket]

I though he used a roller

[@tenonakin9237]

@@clownpocket A "postmodern" roller ? 😆

[@JohnMullengerplusart]

I find myself trying to get what you’re talking about by changing the way I hold the brush. Sometimes like a pencil. sometimes overhand (& loose), sometimes like a brush. Am I wrong?

[@jonyoder2356]

Is there something wrong with going after really high photo realistic style of painting? Most people don't have the space to step 10-15ft back to look at a painting in their house. I've been to a couple of European museums and have found that one tends to want to get close to a painting to look at the minute detail and for me it's disappointing to find that many are just a 'mess' up close. I always felt that the artist able to paint super realistic would be viewed as the better artist if compared to someone painting 'abstractly'.

[@digitalArtform]

I tend to overstate detail.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

Mark...i use triple primed canvas but still my oul painting look duller at the end...initially look vibrant..why ? How many coats of gesso are recommended?

[@bEoNslenDeralert]

after a certain amount of paint is laid on top of it, the light reflecting from the gesso will stop shining through no matter how many coats you have.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

@@bEoNslenDeralert how many coats do u recommend?

[@Heurigijdbd]

blending with "abstract" brush strokes is far more natural looking. The texture just makes it look far more "organic" and less sterile.

[@robertosiqueiros]

Can you tell us more about that "never dry pallete" you´ve been mentioning in the last videos? I´m really intrigued and I´m just looking for something like that to make my paint last longer, specially beacuse I don´t always have as much time as I´d like to paint in a regular week.

[@DrawMixPaint]

I will a make a video soon explaining how it works, but it works because the air inside the sealed palette box is saturated with clove oil. The box will hold two large palettes.

[@gary313]

Wow! How can you say your way is the only correct way. I was taught that there are no rules.

[@youvegottoseethis5615]

After you spend years mastering the rules….then… there are no rules. You have been misinformed.

[@gary313]

Your rude reply confirms my point!

[@guitarplayerfactorychannel]

The eye wanders randomly over a scumble and interprets it thus, so painting the scumble without order takes the orderliness out of the process of being too careful and smooth. We are trying to paint something that looks different every time we look at it, so a scumble paradoxically having random (messy) 'information' forces us to see it in new ways as opposed to seeing the same 'limited' information that a smooth edge delivers. By not being able to delineate clearly, we liberate the viewer and arrive at a fresh observation each time because the random information can be seen in unlimited ways and delivering the perception of newness in each moment, helping the viewer bond with the work.

[@williambusby146]

In my opinion, I disagree. I've been painting for 30 years and I find it better to have a smooth pattern. I paint in the bouguereau style. I do know the brush strokes are visible up close but,yet it still looks like a smooth finish. I can't stand the abstract art. It just drives me insane. All in my opinion!!!! Absolutely love the videos and people can and will learn a lot from you. No doubt!!!!!

[@tomhighsmith]

If you look at Sott Waddel's videos, he says 'blend' as much as possible. Difficult for novice artists

[@andirocha]

Great video! Short and to the point. But, why did you have to use an AI generated background? That represents the complete opposite of what you are trying to communicate and teach.

[@TasiaValliant]

Whats good brush work ? Textured What’s bad(2) ? Too blended , poky.. What is abstract brush work ? Random strokes Do we try to recreate texture of object? No .. random texture .. What’s a common mistake people make ? Oversimplify What to do instead ? Recreate what ur seeing but keep it abstract

[@dr.truthteller9768]

Good stuff Mark!

[@mmcsarte]

The brush must sand walk

[@jamesmonroe3043]

'That's a man baby!' - Austin Powers

[@robertocaserta5475]

At the begin of the video you tell that the texture should not reproduce the subject texture. Then you end the explanation giving the opposite message: you should use abstract texture that are similar to subject complexities...

[@DrawMixPaint]

Sorry for the confusion. Similar from 7 feet away or more, but not verbatim. Up close the surface texture can be anything, but from seven feet away the general patterns you see should be similar to source.

[@robertocaserta5475]

​@@DrawMixPaintthanks for clarifying the point

[@LaxenLarsson]

I just slap the shit out of what ever surface I'm painting

[@pch2230]

I know you should take a statement in spirit it's given, but "It looks just like a photo" is really not a good thing.

[@alicemagari]

This guy hate blending

[@AzrinWatercolor]

Enter Islam and success

[@CarlosMartinez-dr8xj]

Wow ... talk about helpful.. a lot of information and inspiration in under eight minutes.

[@Pax.Alotin]

Mark ---------------------- 'You don't want to ever get all _'blendy blendy'_ where its just a big smooth and your eye doesn't have anything to grab onto' --- Leonardo Da Vinci -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _'Hold my Pizza'_ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 😉😊🙂

[@elementalsound7186]

Great video, thank you!

[@cindyenglert.az51]

Thank you!