How to Paint Like Rockwell
Norman Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator most famous for his cover illustrations on the Saturday Evening Post. Norman Rockwell's painting style is distinctive for its sweet sentimentality and generally realistic portrayal of its subjects. To paint as Norman Rockwell did, you must adopt a number of specific painting habits that would lead to works similar to Rockwell's -- not to mention, you've got to be a spectacularly talented artist.
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Instructions
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Choose human subjects in domestic settings. Commonplace people like mothers, fathers and children should be your focus. The settings may include a kitchen, restaurant, school or doctor's office. Rockwell usually set his paintings against flat backgrounds, such as a flat wall, a chalkboard, or even an empty white space. This allowed the viewers to focus more directly on the subjects of the painting. Keep this in mind as you choose your subjects and background.
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Paint from photographs. Rockwell himself took photographs of his subjects before trying to paint them. This differed from traditional methods that would have required models to pose -- live -- for hours at a time. This allowed Rockwell to paint subjects in the midst of normal, everyday behaviors like arguing, drinking, slumping in a chair, or serving dinner.
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Draw studies of your subjects before beginning your painting. This effort will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the form of your subjects and the confidence to paint realistically. This will also allow you to work out some of the kinks in your composition before attempting the painting. These studies may be highly detailed, or loose and fast. Keep these studies in the vicinity of your easel as you paint. As you paint, return to the studies frequently for guidance and inspiration.
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Paint carefully and realistically. The ability to do so comes with time and much practice and will require some innate skill. This painting will probably happen slowly for you, and it will take long hours to complete. Don't lose patience. Look back and forth constantly between the photograph and the canvas, always comparing your canvas to the photograph.
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Use a painting technique that includes a realistic, earthy color palette and a reverent regard for smooth, invisible brush-strokes, especially around the face and hands of the subjects. Use small brushes for detail work and colors that would appear naturally in the setting in your painting. Limit your medium to oil paint or acrylic. Oil paint is more likely to produce the desired results, because of the medium's slow drying time and the ease at which a painter can blend oil paints together on a canvas. This is useful for producing soft skin tones and subtle shadows.
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Tips & Warnings
One aspect of Rockwell's paintings that you may or may not consider to be an essential part of his work is the overtly American-centered subject matter. That is, many of Rockwell's paintings were set in distinctly American communities and focused on American current events and themes. Whether it is essential to choose subjects that are distinctively American to paint like Rockwell is debatable, and you should do what you feel is best. If you do choose to paint American subjects, focus on small-town American life. Perhaps you would be wise to put more Americana than America in your paintings, as this will be more easily associated with the term "American."
If you're having a hard time painting realistically, don't give up. This will come with practice. Study painters who have painted realistically before you, and read books and tutorials. If you find yourself stuck on a single problem in your painting--maybe the eyes on your subject are crooked or there's a stiffness in the pose you can't seem to fix -- try turning the photograph and canvas upside down, and paint upside down. If you're painting realistically, the differences in the two images should become obvious when you can look at them both from a fresh perspective.
