Mastering Brushstrokes with Albert Handell by Cindy Salaski Invitation to Spring Oil - 18 x 24 Albert Handell W hat is one of the most unique and essential elements in a painting that makes it a painting and not simply a copy of a photograph? Interesting brushstrokes. And broad transparent color washes combined with descriptive brushstrokes and unique palette knife work are what make Albert Handell s paintings a feast for the eyes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Albert Handell in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in September 2011. I subsequently took his painting workshop that began two days later at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center. During Mr. Handell s painting demonstrations the entire class was mesmerized by his various painting techniques, but what interested me most was his amazing brushwork. This interest led me to the following interview with Albert Handell. CS: Albert, how do you create a wash for the distant foliage in a landscape? AH: I start with transparent, scrubbed -on color washes that are kept transparent and I also keep the edges very soft. This will automatically have both a certain amount of luminosity because of the transparent colors, and a sense of distance with the soft edges. This will make up the background. I then build or paint with thicker paint on top of that. Woods Interior - Oil - 16 x 20 - Albert Handell
CS: When do you add the trunks, branches and leaves to nearby trees, and how do you apply them? AH: Since they re nearby or in the foreground, opaque paint on top of transparent paint comes forward while the transparent paint recedes. It s a little bit like warm colors come forward and cool colors go back. So I have transparent very soft sleepy edges in the background, and then when I pick up the palette knife or brush and add the branches and the leaves to nearby trees, I paint them more opaquely. I also try and look at the leaves not as individual leaves but as if they have a rhythm to them. They could be fluttering anywhere and I try to sense if they have that rhythm. Are they going straight across or are they higher on one side or the other, or are they higher on the right going downwards towards the left. They re basically put on with brushwork and palette knife work. And that s how they stand out compared to the transparent background and look like they are in the foreground. Albert used a palette knife here to apply opaque paint in order to describe these leaves. Passage from Invitation to Spring
CS: How do you add a mass of dead leaves in the foreground? AH: Dead leaves in the foreground definitely have a different color to them because they re dead leaves. I size up the entire shape that these dead leaves make, and then I look at that shape and in my mind compare things from left to right to see if there s a nuance or a change in color or could there be some cast shadows lying on top of them. And then I just have to proceed and hopefully I get it in the first go round. Sometimes it calls for overworking. I try to pick out one or two leaves and focus on them, and I suggest the rest. CS: What approach do you use when painting buildings? AH: Whenever I work with two-point perspective, I make sure I can see the two sides and the edge or the corner of the building. It s at the corner of the building where the two planes begin and go into perspective. It s important that this edge or corner is clearly seen and understood. Hopefully it is not blocked by anything, otherwise it could be confusing. Sunday A ernoon - Oil - 22 x 24 - Albert Handell
Albert uses thick, opaque paint for the sunlit area to give great contrast to the thin color washes in the shadow area. Passage from Invitation to Spring And if at the edge of the building it is not understood that the perspective of both planes begins at that point, then just stay away from it, and paint one plane only - either the front or the side. Then there is no perspective at all, and it s all measuring. And it has to be correct measuring if you want to get a sense of that particular building. Understanding measuring is, in my opinion, a basic basic. And if one has problems with measuring then it just has to be learned. It cannot be avoided. When I paint only one plane, in order for it not to look too architectural, I make use of cast shadows at will if necessary whether they re there or not - so that the architectural part of the building doesn t look too stiff and architectural, for an architect will eliminate everything except the bloody building.
August Oil - 18 x 24 Albert Handell CS: How do you add rhythm to your strokes when painting water? AH: I remember the saying, Go with the flow. Go with the flow of the water. Yes, that s what I do. I actually paint the flow of the water period. But when it s a large lake it s very hard to see the flow, one does see some little ripples here and there. And actually the lake is a reflection of the sky. And let s say it s a sunny day. If it s a blue sky the water that is parallel to the sky will be blue, and those little ripples are subtle. And they don t actually show the flow, at times they do, but they re just little ripples. And to make those little ripples, I just change the color instead of using a slightly darker blue. I would use a slightly darker warm mauve or purple, and that makes a nice contrast to the blue water.
CS: How do you create texture in rocks? AH: I start off with a transparent underpainting. Thinning my paint with turpenoid, I use a color which is slightly darker than what I want to end up with. Raw Umber works very well here. Then I take my palette knife or my brush and I mix up the accurate color of the rocks. I thin this color out a bit or I use it straight from the tube. One has to experiment with this part of the technique to get the right texture of paint. And then I drag this color on top of what I already have as a drybrush stroke In other words I don t cover up everything. I paint this drybrush technique with a large stiff brush or a palette knife. The idea is to have some of the transparent underpainting show through so there is a roughness to everything, both the texture of the paint and the quality of the rocks themselves. This adds beautiful texture to the rocks, and to the paint. Bu ermilk Falls - Oil - 18 x 24 - Albert Handell
CS: When do you know when it s time to lay down your brush and say, It s finished? AH: In chess there s a saying If in doubt, push pawn. For me I have a personal saying, If it s not clear what to paint, paint nothing. Drop the brush. Now at that point possibly the painting is finished. I don t know. To find out, I like to turn the painting to the wall for a week or so, and then when I turn it around I like to respond to my initial response, i.e. this has to be darker, this has to be bigger, this has to be eliminated, this has to be whatever, etc. Then when I turn the painting around, I let the painting speak to me. And when there is no crying need to do anything, I smile and I say, It s resolved, and I sign my name. Cindy Salaski is the Founder & CEO of artmatch4u.com, the most comprehensive website in the world for artists, photographers and art lovers. About Albert Handell Albert Handell lives and paints in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since 1961, he has had over sixty one-man shows. Mr. Handell s paintings are in numerous private and public collections, in addition to many museums including the Brooklyn Museum of Art; the State Collection of New Mexico, Santa Fe; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; and the Albrecht-Kemper Museum in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The author of five art instruction books, Albert has also been a featured artist in most every art magazine. Handell shares his knowledge and experience as a teacher through his Plein Air Painting Workshops and his Paint-A- Long Mentoring Program where participants join him at his favorite painting locations. Albert Handell s paintings can be found at the Ventana Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit www.alberthandell.com for more information.