Inspiration: Alla Prima Painting

The Artist Daily sent an email today: "Create a Painting On My First Try? Yes, Please!" featuring  two art peices from artist Al Gury. (Al Gury also wrote an interesting blog post on "women artist ancestors and role models" worth a read)

Al Gury

I love this style!

Alla Prima style (Italian, meaning at first attempt), is a painting technique, used mostly in oil painting, in which layers of wet paint are applied to previous layers of wet paint.

 The French term is "premier coup".

"A Bend In the Pond" by Jennifer Young

If ever I worked in oils (not now)- this would definitely be the technique I would want to perfect. No pre-planning, no glazing and drying - just a skillful economy of brushstrokes done in the moment in limited timeframes.

Other artists using this technique:

• Rachel Constantine
• Jennifer Young (blog post on alla prima technique)
• Felicia Forte (wow!) (On Instagram)

Books on the alla prima technique:

• Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Direct Oil Painting, by Al Gury, Random House Books