The Harder Skill

Thinking like a painter

Giovanni Boldini, Self-portrait while looking at a painting (1865). Oil on canvas. Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Palazzo Pitti, Florence

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Every painter tells about the day he learned some technique that changed everything. A new way of holding the brush. How one stroke with a knife can replace a dozen brush strokes. How paint can be layered to achieve the beauty of broken color.

But this kind of revelation is just the beginning. The harder part of learning our craft is invisible. It’s what happens before the brush even touches the surface. And, more importantly, it’s the part that continues after you’ve put the brush down. It’s what I’d call “thinking like a painter.”