Painting 101

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“Sanctuary” - Final Painting

To finish the painting, I decide that the hues in the background need to be much darker and cooler in hue. I glaze in a dark, cool gray to neutralize the warm tones and deepen them. I decide to leave the background cool and desaturated, 

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“Sanctuary” - Adding Color

When the underpainting is dry, I begin adding color to the figure. I evaluate the hue, value, and saturation of each color and focus primarily on painting the colors in light and the colors in shadow for each part of the image. I decide to change the color of the shirt and shorts as the model was wearing brighter colors that I don’t think will fit the mood of the painting. I darken the shadow areas in the background and think about to what extent I want to keep the background desaturated relative to the figure. I check and re-check my perspective lines. 

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“Sanctuary” - Underpainting

Once I have established the aspect ratio (height to width) that I want for this painting based on my previous thumbnail sketches, I figure out the size of canvas that I need. The aspect ratio for this painting is 1:1 and I want the figure to be big enough to have some detail, so I choose a 24 x 24 inch canvas. I tone the canvas a warm, medium gray. Then I use a mix of thinned raw and burnt umber oil paint to create a line drawing. I establish the horizon line and vanishing point, and check every other perspective line to make sure that they are fairly accurate. I use the same mixture to create a simple representation of the pattern of lights and darks in the painting.

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“Sanctuary” - Value Study

I work out my composition and three primary values (light, medium, dark) in a small sketch (4 x 4 inches) on gray sketch paper using white and black charcoal pencils. I estimate where the horizon line and vanishing point are going to be as this image contains a lot of perspective lines (orthogonal lines). I want the strongest value contrast to be on the figure as she is the focal point of the painting. I want the overall key of the painting to be very low (i.e., mostly dark values) so that the background will feel more ominous.  

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“Home” - Final Painting

To finish the painting, I look for variation in the hues (a little more red on the cheeks, the bluish hue on the figure’s right hand, etc.). I glaze a dark gray over parts of the image to create deeper, more desaturated values. I add the bars on the window after I have finished painting the figure and background.  

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“Home” - Refining Value and Color

I continue to refine the colors and values. I consider how the values relate to one another (i.e., how the values compare to each other in terms of their relative lightness and darkness). I also continue to assess proportions. In addition, I look at how light values become darker ones, deciding whether the edges should be crisp (cast shadows) or soft and gradual (form shadows). 

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“Home” - Beginning to Add Color

Having established the basic pattern of lights and darks in the underpainting, I start a color layer. For each color that I see, I estimate its hue, saturation, and value and try to match it. I know that this is simply an initial estimate and will require revising as the painting progresses.

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“Home” - Underpainting

After toning the canvas a medium gray, I create a simple line drawing with thinned oil paint (burnt umber), and start adding paint into the areas that will be darker in value in the painting. As I begin the painting, I am estimating proportions and line direction. I will continue to refine this in the steps that follow. 

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“ Home” - Value Study

This is a very simple thumbnail sketch (a very small sketch measuring up to about 4 x 6 inches) to consider the composition and pattern of values (lights and darks). Thumbnail sketches ideally take just a few minutes to draw. To do these simple sketches more quickly, I like to draw them on a medium gray paper (e.g., Strathmore Toned Gray Sketch Paper), which establishes the medium gray values before I even start making marks on the page. I use a white charcoal pencil to sketch in the light values and a black charcoal pencil (a 2B works fine) for the dark values. I can see the dominant pattern of lights and darks more easily by limiting the total number of values to about three. I blend the lights and darks with blending stumps to make the pattern clear.

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My Painting Process

My process is the following. I begin with thumbnail sketches that explore possibilities regarding the general composition and various patterns of light and shadow. Once my idea regarding the composition has become clear, I choose the location, find a model, gather together props and costumes, set up the scene and lighting, and take reference photos. I usually also paint very simple color studies to evaluate the color scheme. Next, I stretch and tone the canvas a medium gray made of burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and white. After this, I paint a simple line drawing and two-value underpainting (i.e., the middle value of the areas in light, and the middle value of the areas in shadow) using an earth tone such as burnt umber that is thinned with painting medium. Finally, I add layers of increasingly refined value and color. 

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Brooklyn and the Doorway

In this painting, I want the focal point to be the figure, so I have emphasized the light falling on her, and pushed the background into deep shadows.

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Painting 101

This blog focuses on the steps that I follow to create oil paintings. I’ll be posting images and descriptions about each step from beginning to end.