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Paint with Authority

For me, loosening up is a struggle that has gone on for quite a few years now. Recently I watched a video on YouTube called "Loosen Up Your Painting" by the artist Ryan Jensen. Ryan Jensen had many helpful tips for us in this, but one that just made everything kind of 'click' for me was his phrase, "paint with authority".

He tells us when you apply paint, do it with authority. Don't fiddle or fuss, lay down your brush in a calm, confident, authoritative stroke. This is what I'm doing, I'm laying this stroke of paint down right here. I think one thing that has been blocking me in my struggle to paint more loosely is that such paintings tend to look like they've been painted fairly quickly and quite naturally, and this is what I have been trying (and failing) to emulate. Well here is a close-up of the first painting where I 'painted with authority':

It was incredible. I painted very slowly, much more slowly than usual, and really thought about each brushstroke before I applied it. Once I had decided, that brush went down in one stroke and was left, no correction afterwards. And it bloody worked!

Perhaps speed comes with practise and muscle memory, but for now I am finally able to paint the way in which I want. Thank you, Mr. Jensen!

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