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WARNING: Negative painting can be addictive.

What is a positive shape? What is a negative shape? And why does it matter?

To put it simply: a positive shape is any solid object, like a tree or a dog; and negative shapes are the areas surrounding that object. Learning the negative painting technique teaches you to identify those negative spaces and to manipulate and use them to your advantage. Rather than painting an object, the artist paints around the object, which makes descriptive shapes and edges very important. Negative painting provides interest, movement and excitement and can be incorporated into any style or subject matter. Mastery of this intriguing technique can take your paintings to the next level. The more interesting the negative spaces, the more engaging your artwork will be.

Most painters work in the positive, painting objects directly and often using resists to preserve white or light areas (in art, a "resist" is something applied to places where the paint is not wanted). Negative painting is an alternate approach that can define or preserve an object without the use of masking fluids, wax or tape.

In my own practice, I've found painting in the negative has taught me to "see" more clearly - to notice shapes and values and little nuances that can make all the difference in a painting's aesthetic.

On top of all that, negative painting is just plain fun! Grasping the concept may be a bit challenging, but once you get the hang of it, this layering technique can be relaxing, even meditative. I find negative painting to be a great way to "warm up" your brushes when you first get into the studio.

My completed workshop demonstration piece:

"Coneflower Party", original 5.5" x 7.5" watercolor painting.

My July 2020 negative painting workshop was well-received and yielded wonderful results! Eight students joined me on Zoom for two days of immersion into this difficult-to-grasp concept. This is what they said:

"Wow...thanks Janine. What a fun course full of information and challenge (for me)."

"I'll say! Every moment was fun-filled, challenging, and had great information... I could hardly sleep last night, I was so filled with information! ;-)"

"Thank you for designing a great negative painting class. I enjoyed it. It was my first Zoom class. I wasn't sure what to expect. I am appreciating the videos, too. I have been watching them over and over. I am also redoing some of the exercises. Hope to attend the next one."

"I enjoyed your class so much. I will continue to practice & hopefully will improve...You're an excellent teacher."

My goal in offering these watercolor workshops is not only to teach a technique, but to instill a joy in the process and to motivate students to paint more often. I've included a sneak peek into my negative painting process below. Enjoy!

Watch. Paint. Love. Repeat.

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