Editing Pointillism (section)

== Practice ==

The practice of Pointillism is in sharp contrast to the traditional methods of blending pigments on a [[Palette (painting)|palette]]. Pointillism is analogous to the four-color [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] printing process used by some color printers and large presses that place dots of [[cyan]], [[magenta]], yellow, and key (black). Televisions and computer monitors use a similar technique to represent image colors using [[RGB color model|red, green and blue]] (RGB) colors.<ref name="Greene">Vivien Greene, ''Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism: Arcadia & Anarchy'', Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2024
, {{ISBN|0-89207-357-8}}</ref>

If red, blue, and green light (the [[Primary color#handprintprimaries|additive primaries]]) are mixed, the result is something close to white light (see [[Prism (optics)]]). Painting is inherently [[Primary color#handprintprimaries|subtractive]], but Pointillist colors often seem brighter than typical mixed subtractive colors. This may be partly because subtractive mixing of the pigments is avoided, and because some of the white canvas may be showing between the applied dots.<ref name="Greene" />

The painting technique used for Pointillist color mixing is at the expense of the traditional brushwork used to delineate [[Texture (visual arts)|texture]].<ref name="Greene" />

The majority of Pointillism is done in oil paint. Anything may be used in its place, but oils are preferred for their thickness and tendency not to run or bleed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/emerson/pntmat.html|title=Nathan, Solon. "Pointillism Materials." Web. 9 Feb 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019090200/http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/emerson/pntmat.html|archive-date=2009-10-19}}</ref>