scumbling

Scumbling is a painting technique in which a thin or broken layer of opaque or semi-opaque paint is brushed over a dry underlayer, so parts of the lower colors remain visible. The resulting texture is soft-edged, mottled, and luminous, with a sense of atmosphere or rough surfaces.

In practice, the artist applies a first layer and allows it to dry; then a brush loaded with a small amount of paint—often a lighter value or contrasting hue—is swept across the surface in a quick, scrubbing or circular motion. The brush is often kept almost dry to leave gaps where the underpainting shows through. Scumbling differs from glazing, which uses transparent layers to alter color without removing underlying texture; scumbling relies on opacity or semi-opacity to settle over the base.

Scumbling is common in oil and acrylic painting, but it also appears in watercolor and tempera in modified forms. It can be used to model form through irregular highlights, to suggest rough textures such as tree bark, stone, or weathered surfaces, and to create atmospheric effects like hazy skies or distant horizons by allowing more of the underpainting to show in the background.

Careful color choice and brush handling determine the effect: pale, warm, or cool scumbles can unify a scene or increase depth. The technique is often associated with the handling of light and texture rather than precise, clean edges.

See also dry brush, glazing, impasto.