Painterliness

When someone talks about "painterliness," they mean the way that a painting looks like it was made by someone using paint on a canvas. It can mean different things to different people, but usually it involves some or all of these things:

- Brushstrokes: You know how when you color with a crayon, you can see lines or marks where you put the crayon down? Paint can do that too, especially if the artist uses big or thick brushstrokes. Sometimes you can even see the swirls or patterns that the brush made in the paint.
- Texture: Another thing that can happen when you use paint is that it can create little bumps or ridges on the canvas. This can make the painting look more three-dimensional or like it has more depth.
- Layers: Sometimes painters will put one color down on the canvas, let it dry, and then put another color on top of it. This can make really cool effects, like if you put blue paint on top of yellow paint, you might get a greenish tint where they mix. Or if you use a really thin layer of paint, some of the color underneath might show through.

All of these things are part of painterliness, and they can make a painting look different from a photograph or a drawing done in pencil. When people talk about painters who are "painterly," they usually mean that their paintings look like they were made by someone who really enjoys using paint and who wants you to see the marks and colors they put down.