Artist van gogh drawings and sketches step

Most people characterize Vincent van Gogh&#;s work for its bold, swirling strokes. But he was much more dynamic than just that. I have spent the last few weeks looking over his entire portfolio, including over paintings, to get a feel for how he painted and his preferred techniques and processes.

Here are my findings.

Bold, Directional Brushwork and a Sense of Movement

Let&#;s start with the obvious one: bold, directional brushwork. Most of his paintings feature this brushwork in some form or another.

Artist van gogh drawings and sketches step 1

His strokes take you on a journey around the painting as they twist, turn, and swirl around the subject. This gives his work a unique sense of movement and vibration. The directional strokes also reiterate the subject&#;s form and contours.

For these bold directional strokes to work, van Gogh must have had an uncanny sense of movement and space. Take his iconic Starry Night, for example. He didn&#;t study physics, yet his depiction of the sky&#;s movement and turbulence