-lē, -li adjective
1. : of, relating to, or typical of a painter : artistic
a painterly ability of no small order — New York Times
the painterly arts — Joseph Ehreth
painterly attitudes toward color — Matthew Lipman
2.
a. : marked by or tending toward qualities of color or texture or other features that are present or created in a way distinctive of or especially appropriate to the art of painting
his work is spirited, painterly , sensitive as to light and color and ambient surface pattern — Carlyle Burrows
a free painterly style — Herbert Read
b. : marked by or tending toward an openness of form which is not linear and in which sharp outlines are wholly or nearly wholly lacking
there was a painterly subtlety in the muted whites and grays — O.W.Larkin