Wednesday, September 29, 2010

underpaintings

I hit the magic number today 1111 posts! I did the math, that's an average of 370 a year! My three year birthday is in a few days.Yay!
Back to creating. Here is an underpainting that is really imprimature. Technically, an imprimature is a single colored, somewhat transparent value painting. Its job is to set the mood.  Brushstrokes are a no-no, so I do mine with a paper towel, OMS and a couple of q-tips. I  slide it around like watercolor- similar to  the watercolors underpaintings I do for pastel. Next I brush on some Liquin, which makes it settle into the canvas more and not lift off at the next stage.
A second step, that I sometimes skip, is a full value painting with white and one other color, click here for an example. This is more of a true underpainting. For landscapes I prefer burnt sienna and transparent earth yellow. For an interesting read about underpaintings and Corot's method check out Sadie's detailed description of her idea of Corot's working method here.
 second glaze...more to come

4 comments:

Donna T said...

I really like this painting already Loriann. Thanks for the link to Corot's method. It must be hard for you to wait for glazes to dry so you can go on to the next layer!

loriann signori said...

Hi Donna, It is hard waiting...but I just try to think about the way i want it to look....delayed gratification. ughh. Isn't Sadie's link about Corot fascinating?

Vickie said...

Hi Loriann,
I think your paintings are wonderful. Thank you for explaining how you do the layers and how you use your materials. My neighbor just gave me a bunch of oil paints and I'm trying to figure out how to use them. I usually work in watercolor or color pencil. I'll come back to your blog to learn some more.
My son lives in Silver Spring. It's a nice place.

loriann signori said...

Thank you Vickie, I am delighted that my blog is helpful! Get those wonderful oil paints out. Keep a limited palette to begin and make color charts. Best advice I can give..Enjoy the ride!!!!!