SHAKY HAND SOLUTIONS

A student recently asked a question that I thought some of you could relate to: What to do if you have a shaky hand.

Q - I have a tremor in my right arm and cannot draw a straight line. Everything I paint has wiggly lines. If you have any suggestions that I could benefit from I would be extremely grateful. - Harris S.

A - Welcome to painting, Harris! I do understand your situation. Sometimes my hand can shake as well, plus I had to recover from a severe elbow injury years ago. There are a few things you can try (I would suggest trying each on scrap paper):

1. Believe it or not, moving faster can sometimes compensate for shaking, but it requires knowing how you want to move. What mark are you about to make? See it in your mind and then stroke it quickly. With practice this can really help.

2. Try using your whole arm. If you can “freeze” your fingers and wrist and use your arm to make the mark, that can sometimes produce smoother lines.

3. Try holding the brush with just your thumb and forefinger. That plus a gentle touch can often help relax your hand.

4. When trying to paint straight lines (specifically) try stroking with different directional movements. When you hold a brush, you can stroke by pulling the brush toward you, pushing it away from you, or moving side to side. Try different approaches. I find that pushing my brush away from me uses different muscles than when I pull the brush toward me. It’s possible that your hand/arm will respond better to one specific direction.

Keep in mind that you can always turn your painting surface in different directions as well, so if you find that you do better pulling your brush toward you, you can turn the surface to make the mark using that compensation.

5. You can also try situating your painting surface differently. For example, when oil painting I normally situate my canvas on an easel. But sometimes I lay it on a table in order to paint a series of lines (such a tree limbs) because I know I can paint straighter lines when the surface is flat. You can try vertical, slanted, or horizontal orientations.

6. Try using your other hand. Are the tremors in both hands? If not, it’s amazing how you can train your non-dominant hand to paint if you’re very patient.

7. You can also stabilize your arm by either resting your forearm on the edge of the table (Harris discovered this helped) or using what oil painters call a Mahl stick which has a cushioned end that rests safely on a dry part of the painting surface or along the painting edge. The other end is held by the non-dominant hand. The painting hand can then rest along the stick for stability.

You know, oil painters sometimes use what is called a mahl stick to work on areas of wet paint where they need a steady hand. They rest one end of the stick on the side of the painting and then rest their hand/wrist on the part of the stick (over the painting) where they want to work. It might be something to remember in case one day you think it might be helpful. It may not…but nice to know it’s out there if needed. And, of course, you could probably make something similar without much difficulty. Here’s a link with more information:

https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-a-painters-mahl-stick-2577635

8. Securing a wrist weight on the wrist of the painting arm may also help steady your hand a bit (Harris found this helpful as well).

9. Lastly, you could always embrace the shaky lines and paint more abstractly...or aim to use more impressionistic brushwork (Part Two of my Brushstrokes class teaches broken brushwork). Dashes and dabs don't require the same steadiness. As I've studied the Masters over the years, I've noticed that several had to change their style due to medical issues. In some cases, the later works became their most beloved work.

I hope you all find this helpful! - Jill

Jill Poyerd

Professional Fine Artist & Educator

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