Notes on Pointillism

Pointillism is a style of painting that was popular among the French Neo-Impressionists of the late 19th century. It involves the practice of applying small strokes or dots of contrasting pigment to a surface so that from a distance the dots blend together into solid forms.

In a sense, this is what a computer does every time it draws an image using colored pixels. But because pixels are so small, computer monitors don't give us that gentle Neo-Impressionist feel.
Georges Seurat invented the technique known as Pointilism, which uses tiny dots instead of broad strokes to put the paint on the canvas. The individual dots of red, yellow and blue are sucked in through your eyes and mixed up in your head to create a variety of shimmering shades.

Pointillism was part of the impressionist art movement in the late 19th century. This movement did not aim to paint in a realistic way but rather as we perceive the world. The sub-group of impressionists called Pointillists (most notably Seurat and Pissarro) based their paintings on small colored dots (or even small oriented patches). The observer then constructs the image by merging dots. Perceived reality is, thus, a concept constructed by the observer.

Pointillism is an original form of art created by George Seurat. Pointillism is a bunch of tiny dots formed together to make a picture. Why we use pointillism instead of using a paintbrush and just painting is because pointillism is brighter and the other kinds of paintings can be dull. When two colors are next to each other, your eye mixes them and that is called optical mixing. Using optical mixing instead of physically mixing can make a brighter picture.

Pointillism takes a long time. For example, Seurat’s “A Sunday in the Park” took him two years to complete, covers a wall (81 inches by 120 inches) and has about 3,456,000 dots! If you are ever in Chicago, go to the Art Institute and check out this painting. It’s awesome!

The idea of pointillism is not to physically mix colors.

Assignment # 9 Pointillism

Color Theory Francisco Letelier Assignment 9


Using the 5 color pointillist palette you created in class, create a composition using pointillist technique.

This will involve the practice of applying small strokes or dots of contrasting pigment to the surface so that from a distance the dots blend together into solid forms.
The idea of pointillism is not to physically mix colors.

Size "8x11" executed on 9x12 illustration board.

Medium: Acrylic paint or gouache

Please strive to create a clean presentation.

Use one of your landscape photos, set up a still life or work from a photograph.
Emphasize composition on the page. Choose your subject carefully, making sure it is not too complex for the format we are working in, while checking that it provide enough visual interest to create a strong composition

Make sure you have a small enough brush so that the dots are not too big, make sure you use a large enough brush that dots are not too small. As you work, back away from the surface and observe how your dots are working in specific fields of color.