The spotting technique. Edwin Dickenson, Francis Cunningham, Michael Britton, ....... and my art education.

''Learning to draw or paint is not achieved by Googling 'How to draw a Nose', or 'how to paint a dragon' to find some tripe tutorial that teaches you nothing. Unfortunately the web is overwhelmed with these so called lessons in art.''

I recently bought a book about Charles Hawthorn's spotting technique (which incidentally is a very affordable Kindle download and well worth a read) and I will do what I can to describe what 'spotting' is and why you should be thinking about it and trying it.

There is a demo of the technique  by Francis Cunningham at the bottom of this post.

Francis Cunningham.
Dickinson's class 1958 - 59

Firstly though, the reason for the title is that I have studied (albeit in a very remote way) under the Canadian artist Michael Britton and I can attribute a large proportion of what I have learned and my progression as an artist to him. 

Michael studied under F.Cunnningham who studied under Dickinson who in turn studied under Hawthorn and W.M.Chase.

Edwin Dickinson teaching at the Art Students League 1954
photo by Denver Lindley

My method of learning however, has been thanks to the wonders of technology via DVD, PDF, and email, without these things I would still be floundering in uncertainty about how to go about drawing something let alone anything else related to the correct use of colour, composition and all the technical problems that come with putting paint to canvas or pencil to paper etc..

Michael generously and tirelessly furnishes his students with an invaluable and superior education in the entire craft of painting and drawing, lessons that get to the route of things and can easily apply to all of the visual arts.

In fact, our desire to create comes from the same basic routes of creation itself and of all mans endeavors to simulate this through music, dance, painting, designing, even maths, anything you can name that mankind does has its route in the same basic place that art does. Man being made in the image of a creative God.   But I digress..

Michael's teaching methods are very thorough and include lengthy footage of him executing drawings and paintings. The combined theory and practice lessons I have received here has been my art education.





I genuinely believe that I have gained a far superior Art education by simply studying - repeatedly - the DVDs found on Artacadamy.com. and reading the texts. (Click the link to the right if you want to see the resources)

I've had some experience at colleges and schools in England and it's been disappointing to say the least. I've also heard many other artist accounts from the UK and the U.S (where a good education comes at a high price) about how they feel short changed by the Art education system.  

My progress has been slower and quite solitary but it's been worth it and Michael has given me a lot of guidance over the years. I know I have a long way to go but I would never have got where I am with the education that is currently provided at university, despite the social benefits that come with going to Uni or college.

Needless to say, the process of learning this way is not easy and requires a persistent and patient application.



Learning to draw or paint is not achieved by Googling 'How to draw a Nose', or 'how to paint a dragon' to find some tripe tutorial that teaches you nothing. Unfortunately the web is overwhelmed with these so called lessons in art.

So let me get back to Hawthorn and the very useful technique of  Spotting. 

 Grey Jug and Half Lemon, 1915.
Oil on canvas, 25 x 25 in

Spotting basically means the placing of colour notes, one against the other, forgetting all the important lessons of art and resorting simply to looking. (it doesn't mean dabbing spots with a brush) 

The method requires us to be childlike, or savages as Hawthorn puts it, and to simply take the time to copy what we see.

You must not copy what you know or think you know, but what you see.

There is of course a place for learning the theory of things, the science behind structure, the anatomy behind the figure and all the things that can be learnt about colour and composition and drawing. At some point those things should be done but Spotting is a training tool, a way of learning how to see and judge colour correctly, to really study the way things look and a lesson in how to simplify.

Simplification is key here and obviously the study from life too. Anything can be used:  from the view out a window to a bottle on the table or your face in a mirror. The subject must be reduced to its key notes of colour. Forget detail and let the drawing take care of itself in this practice, just be concerned with colour.

Dickinson Self Portrait in Fur Cap 1914
an example of the literal effects of a portrait
with strong back lighting.

Spotting is not drawing or placing any landmarks or outlines, there is to be no guide. The focus is on the note of colour - of one colour against another. If you get it right then the value, the saturation, the hue will all be correct.

There is no need for clever blending or to apply thin veneer or glazing to achieve an effect of distance or atmosphere. If you get the right colour you can place it on opaquely and confidently and if it is correct then everything else will be right also and it will take its proper place in the scene. 

You are treating your subject (landscape, figure, still life) as if it is a painting on a flat surface and you are simply copying one colour and then another.

Don't look too intently at the colour, just the first impression and don't worry about the edges just get a general feel for it and then take the time to mix it on your palette first. Blur your eyes if you want as this can be very helpful in generalizing the scene.

Place one colour next to the other. Look at how a seemingly dull grey can become a sparkling jewel as you place the correct colour next to it. Keep going until the canvas is covered and make adjustments as each colour contrasts and shifts the other on the canvas.

This is the basis of Spotting. It is a training tool and should not be done as a technique or way of painting but simply as a training tool that will teach you a lot about how to see and about the dynamism of colour and how one reacts to the other.

Don't paint a picture, do it for your own enjoyment and do plenty of them straight on to a white canvas.

When I say don't paint a picture I mean don't be concerned with having a finished product or something you can sell or hang on the wall. Just do it like a musician practices scales.

When you have grasped it you can move on or come back to it when you lke and it will always inform your way of seeing that will prove extremely valuable.

Also get the book mentioned above.