In Progress: Oranges, Silver, Glass II
I spent most of the day working on the grisaille for a larger commission piece. This is the stage in a painting where it seems like it gets worse before it gets better. The sketch always seems nice to me; since I develop it to a fairly detailed level, it could be something of a finished work in it’s own right. The underpaintings, though, frequently have a rough and unappealing aspect, even when there’s a fair amount of time invested in them, as is the case here.
Sometimes, you just have to spread a little manure to grow a rose.
March 17, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
Your paintings are awesome. How do you make the gresaille painting? Do you use only one color?
March 18, 2009 @ 6:16 am
Hi Ginny; I generally use Raw Umber & Titanium White.
March 19, 2009 @ 12:35 am
Am I allowed another question? Do you thin the paint with Liquin or anything?
March 19, 2009 @ 4:44 am
Hi Ginny; as many as you like (depending on my ability to answer, of course).
For the underpainting, the paint is thinned with turpentine only. That’s actually important, as it allows fast drying, and thinning with mediums can affect the way subsequent layers are received onto the surface. That problem can generally be solved with an application of a retouch varnish, but I like to keep it as simple as possible.