Paxton on Painting

The Nude,24x33, by William MacGregor Paxton, Collection of Boston Museum of Fine Arts

 

 

"Let the surfaces flow into one another in a supple envelope of light and paint"

"Find a new motive"

"Make the picture look as if it were painted in one sitting"

"Paint as large a piece as possible at once" 

"Never paint on one piece too long at a time"

"Do Something somewhere else, to rest your eyes"

"Paint neither too thickly nor thinly"

"The quickest way is the best"

"Compose by masses of light and dark or dark and light"

"Chiaroscuro is what makes pictures rich"

"Seek a noble and ample design"

"Make the objects swim in the air"

"Paint all things in relation to the focus"

William MacGregor Paxton, 1901

 

The Letter, 30x25, by William MacGregor Paxton