Readers will learn to identify abstract patterns, the relationships between shapes and how to evoke an emotional response from their paintings in The Painterly Approach. They will discover what the painterly approach is and how to define an object by planes of color and value rather than by line. The focus is placed on the abstract pattern rather than in actual objects, on relationships between shapes rather than on detail and on provoking an emotional response rather than absolute realism. The reader will move beyond the fundaments to more advanced theories of perspective, brushstroking, edges, form and shadows. Finally, a step-by-step approach to painting using two demonstrations, one working alla prima, and the other en plein air show how to apply the painterly approach from start to finish.