Make your mark

Stuck in a rut with your painting? Are you doing the same-old, same-old every time? Why not learn a new language? The language of mark making. Recently, a student commented, ‘I hate mark making for the sake of it’. I found this strange, to say the least, as every painting I know is the result of making a mark of some sort.

The artist, Emily Ball perfectly describes marks as, ‘a dictionary of possibilities to create a visual language… an essential tool without which no work can be created’. She also goes on to note that investigation of your materials improves your painting skills and develops your individuality. Simply put, do what you’ve always done and you’ll get what you’ve always got, so why