Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In painting, the operation of lightly rubbing a brush charged with a small quantity of an opaque or semi-opaque color over the surface, in order to soften and blend tints that are too bright, or to produce some other special effect.
- noun In chalk - and pencil-drawing, the operation of lightly rubbing the blunt point of the chalk over the surface, or spreading and softening the harder lines by the aid of the stump.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A mode of obtaining a softened effect, in painting and drawing, by the application of a thin layer of opaque color to the surface of a painting, or part of the surface, which is too bright in color, or which requires harmonizing.
- noun In crayon drawing, the use of the stump.
- noun The color so laid on. Also used figuratively.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb Present participle of
scumble . - noun An
application of scumbling; anopaque glaze .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Brooding over my blue woman, I ate a cheese and chutney sandwich and in the afternoon overpainted the background with browns and crimsons, glazing and rubbing together the colours in the method called scumbling until I had a deep rich background that wasn't identifiably blue or brown or red but which receded from the eye, leaving the face itself startlingly near and clear.
They didn’t read Pitchfork or Stereogum or Gorilla vs. Bear or Hipster Runoff Josh Spilker 2010
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Brooding over my blue woman, I ate a cheese and chutney sandwich and in the afternoon overpainted the background with browns and crimsons, glazing and rubbing together the colours in the method called scumbling until I had a deep rich background that wasn't identifiably blue or brown or red but which receded from the eye, leaving the face itself startlingly near and clear.
To The Hilt Francis, Dick, 1920- 1996
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She relies on " scumbling, " in which layers of paint are built up to create a shimmery effect, to give her work its depth and vitality.
' Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg 2010
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So many people think that 'scumbling' is about a particular brush mark and not about the paint at all.
Scumbling James Gurney 2009
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The profusion of flakes falling through the air had a scumbling visual effect on the surfaces of things.
The Bridge 2010
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Fish and Rocket have a terrible time scumbling their savvies.
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The eye mixes the scumbling and underpainting, and effects of texture, focus, etc. can be induced.
Scumbling James Gurney 2009
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Yes, scumbling is a way of painting where you dry-brush a thin layer of opaque paint over a the dry surface of a painting.
Scumbling James Gurney 2009
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In my mind, i put scumbling in with glazing, as a technique.
Scumbling James Gurney 2009
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When I tell others what scumbling really is, they look at me cross-eyed.
Scumbling James Gurney 2009
palooka commented on the word scumbling
1. To soften the colors or outlines of (a painting or drawing) by covering with a film of opaque or semiopaque color or by rubbing.
2. To blur the outlines of: a writer who scumbled the line that divides history and fiction. AHD
March 17, 2008