The Alla Prima
Painting Technique For A Fresh
Look
Alla prima painting is a technique that was pioneered in
the 1600s by Flemish master painter Frans Hals. This
technique is also referred to as “direct painting” or “wet
on wet painting”. In its purest form the artwork is
completed in one session before the paint is dry. Each
brush stroke is intended to be final with no retouching
afterwords. The sessions can last from a few hours to a few
days depending on how long the paint stays wet and
therefore workable.
Alla prima painting was a response to more indirect
forms of painting called glazing or scumbling. These
techniques, employed by some of the old masters like
Rembrandt, started with an under-painting that when
finished was a nearly complete work of art. Thin layers of
opaque or semi-opaque lighter colors were then added to
soften and add depth to the final piece. One benefit of
this much slower painting style was that it rendered
consistent results.
Alla prima paintings are often said to have a fresher
more spontaneous feel than the scumbling methods because
they are completed quickly while in the midst of
inspiration. It is said that for this reason that
impressionists as well as modern day painters often
utilized this technique.
Famous painters that employed alla prima painting
techniques include: Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Franz Hals,
John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer.
This relatively uncomplicated method often starts with
toning the canvas with a medium darkness of color. The
purpose of this is to prevent the annoying appearance of
bright white unpainted spots of canvas from peaking through
the painting. Next, a drawing is made on the canvas from
just one color of thinned paint. Areas of color are then
added to fill in the drawing.
TIP: beginning painters might wish to add a drying
medium to the paints to slow down the drying process. This
will give the student more time to paint while getting a
feel for this technique.
First Place Rating
of 9.8 out of 10
According to the publisher
of the
Learn And Master Painting course, it is designed to be
the most thorough, logical and easy to understand way to
learn oil, acrylic and water mixable oil painting no matter
your present 
level of skills or talent. During this course, the
student will create several complete paintings from start
to finish.
Who Will Benefit Most From This Painting
Course?
This dvd lesson set is
geared for rank beginners with no experience or formal
training through accomplished painters that wish to round
out their knowledge base and benefit from the advanced
lessons.
Also, children starting at an age of 8 to 10 years old,
with a little set-up help from an adult, should be able to
learn from the dvd set on their own.
About The Instructor Gayle
Levee (Pronounced Le Vay)
Gayle was born into a family of artists and knew from
the young age of five years old that she wanted to draw.
This award winning artist was formally educated
at....more
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positives, negatives, lesson topics, painting styles and
price please click here Learn &
Master Painting full review
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