"I think of working on different sorts of paper like working on different soils in a garden. You plant images and watch them grow."

-- Australian printmaker GW Bot, profiled in The Printmaking Bible, p209.

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What's the term used for making an art print without using ink? (And it's not "oops, I forgot"!)

• Clue: It's two words, the first begins with a B, the second with an E.

• Answer...

On the Painting Forum Martin is asking about the brushstroke element in a painting, saying:

"Can anyone help? I am very (well almost) pleased with my finished (acrylic) paintings as long as I step back a couple of meters - but - when I return to a close up I get quite disappointed with the 'brushstroke element'. Do others have the same problem. If the elements of a 'good' painting are there at a distant viewing does that mean it is a good painting?"

What do you think? For me brushstrokes are part of your brush handwriting. Whether you strive to eliminate them all or endeavor to have as many as possible isn't a question of good or bad, but style. Join the discussion here...

See Also:
• How to Make Expressive Brushmarks
• Art Worksheet: Expressive Brush Strokes

When you're painting, how important is it to you to paint the subject exactly the way it is, or not? On the Painting Forum, Elyne has posed this question, saying:

"Do you paint exact the way the subject is in real life or do you alter it? Personally when I paint or draw something from a certain object it always looks different or not accurate enough, is that a good or bad thing?"

The responses so far have included Varks saying she has found that "likeness is not just in the details, but in the whole posture" and Tina who says she spends "long time looking for the most important lines, which have to be accurate". What do you think? Join the discussion here...