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The Grisaille Underpainting
There are multiple approaches to making an underpainting. A Grisaille is the simplest form, done with just black and white. Other forms include Verdaccio (done with shades of green), Brunaille (shades of brown), Dead Color (dulled, muted forms of the final colors) and so forth. An artist working with underpaintings will choose an approach based […]
Framed and Ready for Delivery
This commissioned painting is framed and ready for delivery. I gave the collectors several options for the frame, and was excited that they chose this one. It was my choice as well. It’s a gold leaf frame, about 2.5 inches wide, with some simple Arts and Crafts – inspired detailing at the corners. I think […]
Reorganizing My Studio for Better Workflow
I’m off to a scary late start to this week’s painting. Instead of getting to work on it Monday, which is the normal rhythm, I didn’t start it until Wednesday. And I still need to finish it by Sunday evening. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the last two days reorganizing my studio to improve the workflow, and […]
Your Cup of Tea
The Story This week’s painting is one of those that doesn’t have a specific story behind it. Instead, I was aiming for a dramatic mood, along with the solid reassurance that a good cup of tea can bring at just the right moment. Even when there’s not a specific plot, I still think of the […]
Painting Metal
How did you do that? From time to time I’ll get a nice compliment about how I paint metal. This is often followed up with questions about how I do it. Unfortunately, there’s not a simple secret that I can reveal. I approach metal the same way I approach any other type of object: Observe […]
Cultivating the Habit of Beauty
Keeping it Beautiful at Every Step Sometimes a minor shortcoming can illustrate a larger point. The image above is the completed underpainting for this week’s project. One thing you might notice is that the tones get cooler and bluer towards the bottom. As I got to the end of the working day, I ran out […]
Safe Haven
The Story This week’s painting is entitled “Safe Haven”. As is sometimes the case, I didn’t begin it with a story in mind. Rather, I just set to work making the composition that I wanted, and let the story unfold in the background of my imagination. If I get out of the way and […]
A Grisaille omits most – but not all – details
The second step (after the drawing) for this week’s painting is complete. It’s a straightforward grisaille (gray painting) – probably the most common form of underpainting – using only Mars Black and Lead White. These are quick drying paints – an important consideration since I’m on a tight schedule with these weekly paintings. Ideally it […]
Using the Grid Transfer Method to Copy the Image onto the Panel
Most of my recent paintings have been in either a square or horizontal (landscape) format. This week I’m working with a composition that’s strongly vertical, and will be painting on a 14×11 inch panel. The video above shows the model I’m working from and discusses transferring the image to the panel. Once I’ve made a […]
At the Still Point of the Turning World
This week’s painting is entitled “At the Still Point of the Turning World”, which is a line from the T.S. Eliot poem “Burnt Norton”, the first of his Four Quartets. I was not looking for ways to directly reference any parts of the poem in this painting. Instead, I started to see that in this […]
The Ébauche is an underpainting with dulled colors
“Ébauche” is a french word meaning draft or first pass, and it refers to a specific type of underpainting. Rather than using black and white, as is the case with a grisaille underpainting, an ébauche uses color. However, it’s not the full, saturated color of the final painting. Instead, it tends to be desaturated – […]
A Thumbnail Sketch Simplifies the Start
As I get this week’s painting underway, I thought I’d mention the humble thumbnail sketch. After setting up the model, it’s usually the very first piece of active work on the path to the final painting. The thumbnail is just a small, rough drawing that I use to establish the composition. It’s only purpose is […]
The Court of the Pomegranate King
Here is this week’s completed painting – the first in my year-long series of 52 larger pieces. This one is done with oil on mounted linen, and measures 8×10 inches. Parts of this have dried to a matte finish. This is not desirable because it shifts the apparent color lighter than it actually is. A […]
My Current Easel Arrangement, and Painting from Memory
My Current Easel Arrangement Up until about 6 months ago, most of my work incorporated photography as at least part of the reference material. The current setup of my easel reflects that practice. Immediately to the right of it, I have a computer monitor where I’d display photographs I was working from. To the […]
Nearly Complete, but with Uneven Drying
At this point the painting is basically complete. A few details need to be tightened up and several colors need to be strengthened. In particular I want to pay more attention to the reflections in the silver creamer. I’ll also restate some of the colors in the lemon – it should have a greater saturation […]
Glazes on top of the underpainting
With a fully worked out underpainting in place, the color layer usually goes quite smoothly. Often it’s simply a matter of glazing (very thin layers of transparent paint) with the local color and then adjusting details. This was the case with the pomegranate, where I glazed the shadows with a dark transparent crimson. I then […]
Underpainting Can Improve The Final Result
Approaching the Underpainting Last night I completed the underpainting for this week’s project. Different artists have different goals for using underpaintings, and use a variety of approaches. It’s usually an opportunity to work out the composition and the values without worrying about color or detail. Basically its’ a very simplified first pass in black and […]
Starting This New Project
Today I’m starting my year-long project to make one new larger painting each week. I have several items still in my studio from the large commission painting I finished a few days ago, and I like the way they look together, so I’m using them for the basis of this week’s painting. I’ve done a […]
Mostly Complete
Happy New Year! I finished this painting last night – mostly finished, that is. There are a few small issues I want to correct, so I’ll let this dry for about a week and then spend an afternoon addressing them. But, I wanted to get this to the point of being essentially done by the […]
Mt. Parnassus and the Greek Key
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about the last few commissions I’ve done has been collaborating with the collectors to make highly personal paintings. We’ve done this by carefully selecting objects that tell their stories. This painting has a few such elements, and to me the most interesting is that small circular box. The […]