Rockwell: Brushstrokes & Textures

More on my Norman Rockwell observations from the exhibit mentioned previously.

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In other works I it was clear that Rockwell had under-painted the folds in clothing with a sepia smear of thin colour that allowed much of the grain of the canvas to break through. Then, next to the darkness of the depression in the fold, he would paint a thick light swath of paint representing the relief of the fabric. Rockwell cleverly emphasized the impression of depth in the fold not only by the obvious difference in colouring but also in a difference in the density of paint as well as creating an actual physical difference in the “height” of the applied painting, in fact creating visual shadows to fall into the fold from the edge of the paint. I could not find a reproduction of the painting where this was the most evident, but it can be seen in the detail from “ The Problem We All Live With” where it is also used.

Also evident in this detail are 2 other effects that I noted. One, Rockwell made liberal use of charcoal in both his under drawing and often over top the painting as well.

The folds are outlined in charcoal. In some paintings the shadow detail of the fold is not only outlined it is suggested with gentle charcoal hatching, thus creating a mixed media work.

In his painting “The Brass Merchant” the dark outline around the white suit of the woman is actually a dark charcoal edge.

Also evident from the detail of the “Problem We All Live With” is that in many paintings, Rockwell must have first applied a very heavy textured ground before he drew on his cartoon and started to paint. This entire image is heavily textured in life. As though a house painter had prepared a faux stone or stucco wall in miniature. The texture is apparent throughout, not just where the stone of the wall is represented but also in the clothing of the men, though those are somewhat smoothed over.

The paint in the stone work is not only textured, there is also evidence that Rockwell applied many techniques making use of the relief in the texture of the paint such as applying a coat of glaze and then rubbing off allowing colour to collect in the crevices. The sidewalk area has been textured in quite a different way.

In another painting it was very evident that Rockwell had sprinkled sand quite densely into the paint, allowed it to dry and glazed over it.

Many of the paintings showed severe cracking. Rockwell himself had explained that, in an unorthodox fashion, he would alternate paint layers with varnish layers, often, in deference to his deadlines, without allowing adequate drying time. The layers of varnish would allow him to use turpentine to remove dried paint when he was unhappy with his progress without disturbing the portion under the varnish, with which he was contented.

I have always loved Rockwell’s work from his most saccharine to his most politically poignant but I had no idea to what degree he experimented with paint. Visiting this exhibit was a real education.

Rockwell, The Impressionist

I was completely surprised to find that Rockwell’s oil paintings ( see post below regarding the Norman Rockwell retrospective exhibit I attended) were not the smooth textured, tightly painted works I expected from the miniaturized reproductions I have seen.

In fact, Rockwell’s canvases are quite large: on average around 50” x 40” . This allowed him to fit in a great deal of detail as well as to paint far more broadly; sometimes almost in an Impressionist manner, than one would be led to believe in the apparent “tightness” of the reduced images we do get to see.

For instance see the detail area of the white cloth on the pants of Abe Lincoln in his painting “ Lincoln for the Defense”. In the painting it all reads as rumpled white cloth but close up it is just dabs of colour.

Note also a detail of the sleeve. Neither the reduced image of the entire painting nor the close up detail shows it for what I saw in person. The ruddy shadowed areas in the folds on the sleeve in life are very hard edged, dry brushed streaks of bright burgundy paint. There is no effort at all to soften and blend them into the folds. In fact, they look a little stark in real life. Rockwell clearly painted with the foreknowledge that his work was going to be shown in reduced format and he understood how his strokes would appear when presented that way.

In many paintings I  noted faces that were created with streaks of unblended colour that look absolutely tight and precise when the image is reduced

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Scrutinizing Rockwell in Fort Lauderdale

While it appears I have abandoned this blog, that is not the case. I had limited energy in the UK to create daily posts and no internet connectivity in Croatia. Upon returning home I succumbed to a 5 week illness and a major family project that prevented me from posting. I do wish to cover subjects of artistic reference regarding my trip and I will return to that at a later time. For the time, I would like to post on artistic matters that are more current.


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I am currently in Miami Beach and I was fortunate to catch the travelling exhibit “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell “ at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art. 

Rockwell is one of my heroes and I scrutinized his paintings closely. So closely in fact that I was accosted by one of the guards towards the end ( thankfully) of a 3 hour visit and told to step away from the paintings and maintain a 4 foot distance. I thought this was outrageous since, as a perpetual student of art, this would not allow me to study the brush strokes from such a distance.   Accordingly, I filled out a comment card complaining bitterly informing the powers that be, both verbally and in writing actually, that at the National Gallery in London, an institution much more august than theirs, I was allowed to examine paintings closely.

The irony is that the image used on the home page advertising the exhibit, and indeed one of the paintings in the exhibit,  is Rockwell’s “The Art Critic” showing an individual almost nose to nose with a Gallery painting examining it closely with a magnifying glasss.

During the 2 hours and 45 minutes where I was able to get a good look, I made a number of mental notes and really learned a lot about how Rockwell achieved his effects. More about that in the next post.

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