How to Paint in the Realism Style

In the last half of the 19th Century, realism dominated a lot of art, literature and public opinion. Painters of the realism style discarded fantasy and myth for basic, everyday life.

Things You'll Need

• Oil paint
• Canvas

Instructions

Choose Realist Subject Matter for Your Painting

1. Reject the themes and subjects of classical and romantic art. History, religion, myth and literature are not found in realist paintings.

2. Consider only contemporary subjects. The realism art movement is a shift in art away from the past. Realism paintings have a sense of "nowness."

3. Depict a scene of complete normalcy. The paintings should portray something that happens on any given day. People can be washing dishes, eating breakfast or working their daily job.

4. Focus on the middle and lower classes of society. Realism ignores the higher echelons and declares that even the lowest, most unexceptional figure is worthy of artistic portrayal.

5. Keep the themes material or earthly. Avoid emotions like faith, love, hope or fear. Emotions found in a realist painting might be hunger, carnal desire, exhaustion or pain.

6. Avoid cheerful sentiment. This is not a requirement, but there is a general similarity between most paintings of the realism style. They portray hard work at best and tragedy at worst.

Paint in the Realism Style

1. Paint as realistically as you can. A painting in the realism style is a straightforward replica of the naked eye. Make sure that all the proportions, textures and colors are correct.

2. Use more earth tones than bright colors. Browns and yellows are the most common colors in realist paintings.

3. Do not exaggerate or celebrate your subject matter. Do not attempt to beautify any part of the scene, despite the desire to. Simply depict it as it is.

4. Make the actions seem difficult and slow going. Realist paintings do not appear to have much movement. Because of their stationary quality, the scenes seem more timeless.

Tips & Warnings

• The difference between realism and classical art is the subject matter and very little else. The training required to be a realist painter is identical to the training for a painter of the classicism style, the romanticism style or the baroque style.

• During the height of the realism movement, the contemporary subject matter was a key part of the artists' principles. However, over a century later, artists no longer need to rebel against romantic and classical art. Feel free to break the time period rule a little if you want to.