painterly

adjective

paint·​er·​ly ˈpān-tər-lē 

1

: of, relating to, or typical of a painter : artistic

painterly attention to detail

2

: suggestive or characteristic of a painting or of the art of painting

painterly photography

especially : marked by an openness of form which is not linear and in which sharp outlines are lacking

painterly brushwork

painterliness noun

Examples of painterly in a Sentence

He has a painterly eye.

a painterly picture of the sea

Recent Examples on the Web

His penchant for unexpected painterly modes would consistently mark the artist’s practice, culminating in his recent and gleeful adoption of the iPad and his embrace of immersive digital art. —News Desk, Artforum, 12 June 2026

The artist, born in 1937 in Bradford, England, produced a singular body of work characterized by ultrasaturated colors and an innovative painterly perspective. —Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 12 June 2026

Harrison still evokes painterly fugues of light and pungent smells, but they’re offset by a growing bleakness, and there’s less humor. —Literary Hub, 11 June 2026

As the title suggests, Music In Continuous Motion picks up right where its predecessor left off, with Orcutt assembling overdubbed guitar lines into brief, interlocking pieces that balance rough-hewn primitivism against painterly precision. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1