Paint to Finish

Ellen Buselli keeps her paintings fresh through careful observation and precise brushstrokes

Ellen Buselli keeps her paintings fresh through careful observation and precise brushstrokes

My approach to painting is very direct. I am painting what I see with emphasis on the light and shadow. I mix my oil colors directly on my palette as I go. I “paint to finish”—meaning I am very decisive and economical with my brushstrokes making each one effective after careful observation. This approach helps to avoid reworking or overworking and keeps the painting fresh. Carefully observed values and colors make the painting read correctly. I only paint from life and do not use photographs because what I actually see is so much more fascinating and interesting to me than a photograph. Painting from life allows me to make constant decisions as I compare the last brushstroke to the next one and evaluate if it is darker/lighter or warmer/cooler. In addition, the application of each brushstroke is important and decisions need to be made on the opacity or transparency of the quality of the paint, the direction of the brushstrokes and type of edges needed in each passage of the painting. An edge can be hard or soft or “lost and found.” These elements—values, color, edges, quality of paint and brushstrokes—are the keys to making a two-dimensional surface appear threedimensional. It is a bit like magic. Working this way keeps the act of painting and the creative state active and engaging, helps to keep the work fresh, and hopefully prevents one from overworking a painting. I never get tired or bored painting this way for every new painting is a fresh new challenge offering many unique things to translate to a painted surface. I have learned to see and observe in a more abstract way when working with these key painting elements by breaking each part of the painting into abstract concepts rather than thinking of the object itself. It doesn’t matter if it is a still life, floral, portrait, figure or landscape—i use the same way of thinking and observing to understand each situation. People who have

watched me paint in my studio have told me that I spend most of my time looking and observing, then I will paint an area quickly and with decisiveness. In my studio, I only paint in north light. The light is cool and soft, and because it is indirect, the shadows and light stay consistent throughout the day. When painting flowers, direct painting is the best way to capture the blooms before they wilt. It forces me to quickly and correctly make every brushstroke, value, color and edge count as a finished one. The flowers need to be painted first with indications of the values in the rest of the painting. After the flowers have wilted, I continue to work on the other areas until the painting is finished, and unless a correction is really needed, I try not to rework the flowers in order to maintain their fresh look. When painting landscapes on location, I do tend to work more quickly because of time constraints. The scene is constantly changing, and I edit quickly what is important to capture before the scene changes to another painting. In landscape painting, it is important to not get caught up in the details at all until the very end. Mass and form, darkest darks, middle tones and lightest lights need to be established first. Most importantly, the quantity and distribution of each value makes for compelling compositions. The other most important elements to painting, for me, are the composition and drawing. I always spend the most time on the initial block-in and composition before anything else. Once this part of the process has been established to my liking, the rest of the painting will flow so much more easily. It is pointless to continue to the actual painting stage if this part of the process is not exactly the way I envision. It is the skeleton of the painting— all that follows depends on this initial structure. Living in New York City has also been a great inspiration to me. Inspired by the last-turn- of-thecentury painters and further back, I visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art frequently to study fi rsthand painters that have influenced my work over the years such as Chardin, Fantin-latour, Chase, Sargent, Emil Carlsen and others. My approach is quite traditional in the sense that my palette is set up with warm and cool versions of each color, plus white and black. I can create any color needed from my standard palette, only occasionally adding a special color if really needed such as for unique floral color. My favorite brush is the versatile filbert—i find that I can make pretty much any brushstroke I need with this great brush. I have handy some flats, sables and some rounds for some techniques, but in the end, I always go back to the filbert. I used to paint on stretched canvas, but now prefer to paint on double oil primed canvas boards using Claessens Linen 13. Previously, I would make all of my boards, but over the years, I have been happy with most of the various art suppliers that sell them such as New Traditions, Raymar and Sourcetek. I fi nd that although my approach and technique is consistent, and I have not changed my palette or materials much over the years, each painting is new experience. There is always a bit of trepidation when starting a new piece, but because of all the variables in nature, the effect of light on different surfaces, and the beauty of all things, everything always seems new and exciting.

Salon, oil on linen, 20 x 22" (51 x 56 cm) Blue-and-white porcelain vases collected from my trips to China are always a favorite to paint. Here the composition is not head on, but looking from above. The wooden table, cloth and flowers suggest an indoor set up in a salon or drawing room often seen in the last turn-of-the-century homes. The dramatic light hides and reveals.

Red & Pink Roses, oil on linen, 15 x 16" (38 x 41 cm) Every floral bouquet offers unique color stories. Here the David Austen roses in red, coral pink and white are offset by the tinted jade of the glass vase. The blooms need to be painted first before the flowers wilt, then more time can be spent on the vase and stems. Some final glazing was used on the glass vase to enhance the semitransparent tinted green glass.