Underpainting
Should I start with a blank white canvas or a colored one?
If you've ever had this question before starting a painting, you're probably wondering which is better to start. I'm here to give you an idea since I've done both throughout the years of painting.
Underpainting starts with a colored background. It's an extra step before painting. It was the traditional way how oil painters started on an art piece from the Renaissance and beyond. It is still used today with other art mediums, such as watercolor, gouache, soft pastels, and acrylics like I use. This base layer creates the initial structure of the painting and has an overall lasting effect on the final piece. You can see the difference below between a white and a colored underpainting.
Generally, there are many underpainting techniques (typically named by the colors used). I will only explain two. The first is called imprimatura. This is using earth colors in added washes to build up values. If you're using acrylics, as I do, you can add more water to the acrylic paint or a glazing medium to add the darks and lights for the imprimatura. I have an example of how that would look like using burnt sienna (an earthy brown color) with established values. With this technique, you can add glazes to build color over it. If you don't know what glazing is, read my other short blog post here.
The other technique is simple since there are no added values. You add one whole wash of color. For this, I play around with colors, such as complementary or vibrant, unexpected colors that create flashing effects. It's fun once you've practiced with it because it affects the turnout of the painting. The example below shows the difference between warm underpainting and cool underpainting. The warm color I used was orange, and for the cool, I used blue. The overall colors I painted on top leaned more towards cool, so you can see how the warm underpainting pops out, creating a vibrancy to the sand.
At one point, in underpainting, I questioned if similar colors made a huge difference. To test this, I painted with three different yellows: primary yellow-a vibrant yellow, cadmium yellow-an orange tinted yellow, and yellow ocher-an earthy yellow. In the end, there wasn't a huge difference. They all looked relatively the same. Remember, you can choose any color for the underpainting, but a helpful tip for picking the right one is to select the color that influences the mood, feel, and overall look of the painting you want to portray.
Generally, if you're new to color, keep it simple with a white background to get familiar with how colors interact on the page. If you're used to color, then experiment with different colors and put into practice color theory and your imagination! Below you can watch a short video on my Youtube Channel for the live painting demonstrations.
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