I'M passionate about learning. I acknowledge that learning takes time–and patience is a virtue. But I also realize that by getting the right information learning can be accelerated.
I came to painting later in life than most of my peers. One of the reasons I postponed painting and focused primarily on the art of woodcut was I didn't think I could learn how to paint. I didn't view myself as an intuitive painter. The painting process was very mysterious and didn't come as easily to me as I perceived it did to fellow artists. But after viewing an exhibit of Van Gogh paintings at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City I found myself in the grips of an obsession with thick paint.
My interest in painting persisted and I periodically browsed the internet for articles about thick paint or painting with thick paint. Remarkably I found little to help in my pursuit of painting with a heavily loaded brush. Although initially discouraged I took it as encouragement to write about my experience wrestling with the maddening yet exhilarating prospect of painting with highly textured paint.
Over the course of my study I experimented with thinner painting methods akin to the Hudson River school and found some success with that technique. I love paintings in that style but for me painting with thicker strokes is a more authentic expression of my personality. The information in this book applies equally to all painters no matter how thickly (or thinly) they wish to paint. I kept the title of this book The Art of Thick Paint, the same as my blog and YouTube videos, because there have been over a million visits to my blog and 4000 subscribers to my YouTube channel and I wanted to build on the momentum of that success. Go to bradteare.blogspot.com and www.youtube.com/user/BradTeare to see orignal essays and videos.
If you enjoy painting with thick paint there is plenty of information here for you to sink your teeth into. But whether you are painting with thick paint or thin the following information will help you understand the nature of paint and how to improve your painting. Above all you will have new means to advance at a faster pace on your artistic journey. I hope you will join the conversation and share your success, pose questions, or comment at bradteare.blogspot.com.
Many chapters contain principles that overlap. When they overlap I have tried to recap as briefly as possible to prevent undue repetition while still conveying enough information so each chapter can be studied individually.
Brad Teare
Providence, Utah 2015