Jose Bautista painting from our 3rd raffle...

[GKreindler]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! I'm hoping to get back to Jose in a few days - things continue to be crazy here.

Mark, in regards to your questions, impasto just really refers to any paint that's applied to a surface rather thickly - thick to the point of where it noticeably sticks out from or off the surface. It's actually an approach that also help draw the viewer's eye to a particular part of the painting. Aside from that, it can help add emphasis to certain passages or edges, and overall give a piece some nice nuance (if texture is something the artist is interested in). I try to be a bit more open and willing about it these days, as it's something that I used to shy away from.

And really, there are lots of other ways to make colors or passages pop. In addition to the use of texture, it's all about keeping in mind what surrounds the area you're trying to emphasize. And that's in regard to value, temperature, edges and almost anything else you can think of. It's all relative. So, if I wanted to make a certain brown on my canvas pop, I would probably a lot of attention to what's around it. Those colors might be less chromatic, have softer edges and/or be smoother overall, while I could do my best to make the brown a more 'colorful' mixture and make sure it has more texture than the surrounding areas.

I'm not sure if this makes any sense, but it's early and I'm a bit sleep-deprived these days...so if something doesn't make sense, just say so!