Every time your brush hits the canvas or your pencil makes a line, you are making a mark. It is a fundamental element in making any type of art and it is how we begin to express emotion, movement, and other concepts we wish to convey in our work. We've already looked at one way of making marks - the humble (but important) line. What other ways can you think of to make marks?

Marks can be made in any style:-

lines, dots, splodges, smudges, streaks, swirls, splashes, drips, splatters, flourishes, sprays or anything else you can think of.

In any media:- for example watercolour, acrylics, pastels, pens, chalks, inks, dyes or glazes.

they can be on any surface:- paper, leather, textiles, ceramics, metal or wood.

You can use all kinds of applicators:- fingers, brushes, sponges, stamps, rollers, sticks, palette knives, card edges, combs, leaves, twigs and all sorts of other found objects.

Mark making can be loose and gestural, or structured and controlled.

Paste Paper

Marks can also be made by removing or stressing material. For example, scratching, scraping, etching, bleaching, debossing, burning, carving or sanding.