Colored Grounds / Imprimatura: What is It, What Colors to Use, and Who Used Them...

Before we get too deeply into the characteristics of Direct and Indirect painting, I would like to first talk about something they both utilize: colored grounds. By which I mean the initial tonal coloring of your canvas before any other work starts.

There are several different colored grounds that have been used throughout art history in order to create a specific feel or look. Before we get into those colors, I will first cover some terms, what the color of your palette can mean, and why we use grounds.

Terms 

"Ground" is actually not the correct technical term. A ground or sizing is what covers the raw canvas or board to protect it from the oil paint. Things like rabbit glue and gesso are grounds. The imprimatura, or "first paint layer," is the initial stain of color painted over the ground.

Throughout the internet these terms are confused. Most people think the imprimatura is the underpainting, which it isn't, so from here on out I will be calling our colored grounds by their proper name, the imprimatura.

Matching your Painting Palette 

The color of your imprimatura should match the color of your palette, as you can see in the above photo. This is so that the color you are mixing on your palette appears as the same color when applied to your canvas. Otherwise you can get very frustrated when mixing what appears to be the "right" color, only to find that it looks different up on the canvas.

Allow me to give an example: an artist who has a natural wood palette and paints directly onto a white canvas may run into a color-mixing problem. When making colors on his palette, the color his eye sees is influenced by the color of the palette. When he takes that paint and puts it onto a white canvas the color will appear to be different because now it is being influenced by the pure white of the canvas verses the tan color of the wood.

Glass palettes can allow you to have more freedom with your imprimatura by simply placing different colored pieces of paper under your palette. That being said, this is a rule that lots of artist break. Me included. 

Why the Imprimatura? 

Using an imprimatura is as common in oil painting as white paper is in watercolor. The imprimatura can help create a unified color harmony throughout the colors painted on top of it and reduce the time and effort needed to arrive at a certain value range. If, while painting, you ever stand back and feel that your colors don't quite "match," try starting your work with an imprimatura to help create balance and unity. 

Colored Imprimaturas 

Traditionally the imprimatura was almost always moderate in intensity and value, and tended to rely on the low cost and quick dry qualities of earth pigments. Below is a list, from the Complete Oil Painter by Brian Gorst, of colors commonly used for imprimaturas. Where I can, I have included links to examples of each color being used in the description.    

1. Gray: The main function of gray is to remove the glaring whiteness of the original ground. A light-toned gray is the multi-purpose imprimatura and is useful for all genres. It also allows flexibility when your color scheme is still undecided. It was sometimes used by artists such as Monet. 

2. Terre Verte: This earth green was often used under areas of flesh by Byzantine and Medieval painters, such as Duccio, of the 13th and 14th centuries, but had continued use even past Michelangelo. The green helps neutralize the effects of strong pinks and reds, allowing for a natural skin color. 

3. Earth Red/Burnt Sienna: Used by landscape artists to give breath to green foliage, it also creates a mauve hue when sky and clouds are painted over it. This effect can be seen in works by Turner. These colors are also used by figure and portrait painters to help establish warm shadow masses, and was often used in the French figurative tradition by artists ranging from Poussin to Degas. 

4. Dark Brown or "bole:" A bole ground is usually an opaque mixture of Earth or Mars Red, black, and a small amount of Yellow Ochre. Still used today by traditional portrait and figure painters, a bole background came into style by artists such as Caravaggio and the young Velazquez.   

5. Yellow Ocher/Raw Sienna: These earth yellows provide a rich, warm imprimatura which maintains a sense of luminosity. Used by landscape and portrait painters to give a work a warm, golden undertone. You can see this used in works by Rubens.

6. Burnt Umber/Raw Umber: Both are cheap, quick drying, and semi-transparent, making them ideal for a thin imprimatura. These colors were used by artists such as da Vinci and Van Eyck.  

7. Light Blue: Sometimes preferred by alla prima painters as a luminous base, using a blue imprimatura allows for water, skies, and atmospheric effects to be developed quickly. I have no idea who starts out with blue. 

8. White: A plain white imprimatura is the most luminous imprimatura for glazing. The drawback is that it makes opaque paint appear darker by contrast. The white ground was first consistently used by Manet, and then later by artists such as Seurat and Derain. 

Looking back through art history's use of imprimaturas can help you decide on the look and feel you would like to have in your own paintings, and is always the first step in coping a master's work. 

For more about painting check out my main Tips and Techniques page. 

Direct vs Indirect vs Combination Painting: Differences, Terms, and Artists

Understanding the strict difference between Direct or Indirect Painting will help you create your own painting method and style. Here we will be covering the terms, along with a few examples of those who used the different methods. Each method will be covered in more detail in their own, individual posts.

Direct Painting 

Sargent, Self-Portrait (detail), 1907     Monet, Woman with Parasol, 1875                    Vincent Van Gogh, Room at Arles, 1889 

The Direct Painting Method is referred to by many names: Alla Prima, En Plein Air, Wet-on-Wet, Impressionistic/Impasto, etc.

The basic idea is that a true Direct Painting is finished while all layers are still wet. This can be done in one session or several, as long as the different layers are worked into wet, versus on top of dried layers. Direct painters who paint over several sessions prefer their paint to remain wet for several days in order to work as long as possible. Two mediums that allow for such a length of time are poppyseed and safflower oil.

The Daily Painting movement are artists learning to be strict direct painters. Direct painters tend to have more spontaneous, colorful, and effortless (looking) works. If you are an artist who would like to have more color and freedom in your works, I highly recommend checking out Carol Marine's blog, as well as her book, Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often in order to become a more Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist.

Below is a short video from the Web Art Academy talking about Direct Painting, as well as a great demo by David Kassan.

Indirect Painting 

Raphael, Madonna of the Meadow, c. 1506    Titian,  Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-1523          Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego, late 1630s

Indirect Painting is done in stages or layers, with each previous stage dried before continuing.

The basic stages to Indirect Painting are:

1. Imprimatura or Ground 
2. Underdrawing 
3. Underpainting / Dead Color  
• Brunaille 
• Verdaccio 
• Grisaille 
4. Overpainting 
5. Semi-Transparent Glazes

This is the "classic" method to oil painting, also called the Flemish Technique. Name any Northern or Southern Renaissance or Baroque painter and this is the way they painted. 

Note: You will sometimes see people refer to the "Seven Steps of the Flemish Technique," they just break my own steps 4 and 5 into two additional steps. 

Combination Painting 

To be fair, most artist are a combination of the two. Sargent was one artist who would paint the majority of his work directly, allow it to dry and then do final color-correcting glazes over the top. Some other famous artists who used both methods were Rubens, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt.

Again, each method will be covered in greater detail in separate posts. For more about painting check out my main Tips and Techniques page.

Narcissus Romance: Part 1

This is a small 6x6 painting that I am working on of some buttercup flowers.

Ram after Blue II: Final

I think that I am really happy with the way the ram turned out. See, originally I was very frustrated with my pronghorn and grizzly bear, but then I found the works of Kevin Earl Taylor, which I loved. I decided that I would copy his ram (see image blow) in an attempt to move my works in the direction I want them to go. I think I did okay.

Below are the progress photos with the final image.

Ram After Blue II, Oil on Panel, 18x24 inches 

I am calling it Ram after Blue II, because the splatter marks were borrowed from Joan Miro's Blue II:

Mr and Mrs Smith: Part 2

Remember these puppies? Probably not, I first wrote about them a long time ago. Mr and Mrs Smith are the second to last pre-Cousin paintings that I have to finish. I did work on them once, like back in May, but got frustrated and put them away. Yesterday, however, I got them out again and thought, "hey that isn't all that bad," and finished Mrs Smith. Below are the progress photos:

I really like the pink nose and toe nails. Now on to Mr Smith.

Hedgehog: Part 1

Both Husband and my friend Zillah are super into hedgehogs. I am not entirely sure why... but this one is not for either of them. hahahhahaha

Below is the underdrawing and underpainting:

I thought that having a color gradation would look cool, but it turns out that it just makes him look like he wet himself. I think that I am going to do some random colored needles instead.

Atlantic Octopus: Part 1

I am not sure why, but I love octopi. I think they are amazing, and so I give you the underdrawing and underpainting of a little octopus:

Ignore the shape under her, it will be changing/going away.

Sebastian: Part 1

Growing up we usually had two kittens, then they turned into three, and then five (that was crazy, neighbors kept thinking we were the place to give found cats), and then back to three, and then two, and now one.

The "Primary Three" were Gershwin, Autumn, and Sebastian. Gershwin died about six years ago at 17 (that was hard), Autumn died three and a half years ago at 16 (that was harder), and now we are left with only Sebastian, a ginger tabby, who is almost 14 years old (don't tell him though, he thinks he is still a kitten).

Originally adopted as a Christmas present for Grandma, which was rejected (he would have been perfect), Sebastian was the cutest of kittens. Here is the drawing I have made up of him as a kitten:

Right now I am thinking that the background will be a light, light blue (which should help the orange in his coat to really pop), and his little paws will be teal.

Colossal: The World's Oldest Multicolored Print Book has been Opened and Digitized for the First Time

The earliest example of multicolor printing is now available for the public eye, digitally available through Cambridge University Library's Digital Library Site. The 17th century book, Manual of Calligraphy and Painting (Shi zhu zhai shu hua pa), is so fragile that it was previously forbidden to be opened, its content a total mystery before its recent digitization...

The Cambridge site explains that although the skill required to achieve such douban prints is admirable, the gradations of color within the book is what led to its reputation as "perhaps the most beautiful set of prints ever made"... 

Colossal: Sipping Turtle Tears in Ecuador

Colossal: A Pair of Butterflies Photographed While Sipping on Turtle Tears in Ecuador

Apparently if you're a thirsty butterfly, one option available to you is a refreshing sip of turtle tears. No, this isn't a staged photo masquerading as science, it's an unusual behavior known as lachryphagy (tear drinking), and is one of several ways butterflies obtain moisture and nutrients... 

My Modern Met: Solar-Powered Sea Slugs

My Modern Met - Solar-Powered Sea Slugs: The Rare Organisms with Plant-Like Qualities

Meet the Elysia chlorotica, a bright green sacoglossa found along the Atlantic coast of North America that's earned the title of "solar-powered sea slug" for its ability to produce its own energy with sunlight and the chloroplasts that it sucks off of algae. This unusual process, which is similar to photosynthesis, is known as kleptoplasty. Except for a select number of creatures like the adorable "leaf sheep" Costasiella kuroshimae nudibranch, very few non-plant organisms are capable of the phenomenon...

Cool Critters - Regal Ringneck Snake

Cool Critters - Regal ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus regalis) 

This colorful beauty is a subspecies of ringneck snake endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are among the larger of the ringneck snake subspecies, growing from 20 to 87 cm long. The regal ringneck snake is found in the mountains, not in the desert. The regal ringneck snake, unlike other subspecies, is almost exclusively ophiophagous, having a diet that consists primarily of other snakes. They have enlarged rear teeth and a weak venom that serves to immobilize their small prey, but is harmless to humans. Ringneck snakes are nocturnal, secretive snakes which spend most of their time hiding under rocks or other ground debris. If threatened, the ringneck snake typically hides its head and twists its tail in a corkscrew type motion, exposing its brightly colored underside, and expels a foul smelling musk from its cloaca.

Which Black should I Use: Lamp, Mars, Ivory, Payne's? Or No Black at All?

This morning I was looking over my last two posts (I made some changes to the post about supports, by the way, I added more information on how to pick a canvas and I changed a video) and thought to myself, but what about black? There are so many blacks!

Let's discuss. 

Today I will be covering the difference between the basic blacks (Mars Black, Ivory Black, Lamp Black, and Payne's Gray) as well as why black has a bad rap, and how to mix your own black. 

Mars Black: Named for the alchemical name of iron, Mars, it was traditionally made from a black iron oxide. 

Mars black is a matte, very opaque black with a warm, brown undertone. Not as "black" as some others on the list, but a mega strong tinter. This was the choice black for Neo-Expressionists, like Anselm Kiefer, who just wanted BLACK in their paintings. 

Ivory Black: Named for its traditional processing method, roasting elephant tusks, it is related to its out of date cousin, Bone Black.  

Ivory black is a semi-transparent black with a slightly warm, brown undertone. It is a blacker-black than Mars Black, and while a solid tinter, it is about three times weaker than Mars Black. It is the all-purpose black and is a solid choice for mixing grays and creating colored shades.  

Lamp Black: Named for its traditional processing method, collecting the residual soot of burnt oil lamps (waste not want not), it is made of pure carbon and is one of the oldest pigments. It has also been called Carbon Black, Vine Black, and Charcoal Black. 

Lamp Black is a semi-opaque black with a cool, blue undertone. It is great when you want bluer shades and cool blue grays. 

Payne's Gray: Named after the 18th century water-colorist William Payne. Payne often recommended it to his students as an alternative to plain black and it is a mixture of Ultramarine Blue, Mars Black, and sometimes Crimson. 

Payne's Gray is a semi-opaque black with a strong, cool blue undertone. It is the coolest black on the list and has a moderate tinting strength. Landscape artists like to mix it with different yellows in order to create varying tones of deep green.

How to Mix your Own Black 

Light is additive, in order to get to black you would have to remove all light/color. In the real world, this doesn't naturally happen. Pigments are subtractive, in order to mix black you add all the colors together. Here are two ways to mix black:

1. Mixing blue with red and then adding yellow makes black. It can be a very pretty, dynamic and colorful black. 

2. Mixing perfect compliments together will give you gray, but like the deepest gray possible...so really it gives you black. Matching perfect compliments can be difficult, if two colors are compliments, but not perfect you will get brown. 

Gamblin has taken the guess work out of matching compliments for you with their Chromatic Black. It is a transparent black and is also neutral in color temperature. I have never tried it, but I think I want to.

The Bad Rap of Black 

Monet painting at the Edge of a Wood, John Singer Sargent, 1887 

Have you ever heard that you should never use black in your paintings, because black does not "exist" in the real world? Wanna know who gave black a bad rap? Impressionists. That's right... the most "beloved" of all, the Impressionists. 

To be fair, straight black doesn't actually exist in the real world. Hold the phone! Really? What about black panthers or jaguars? Take a look, they are blue. 

There is a nice little story about the above painting when Sargent was visiting Monet and asked Monet if he could borrow some paints. Here is the moment according to Monet:

"I gave him my colours, and he wanted black and I told him, 'but I haven't any,' 'then I can't paint' he cried, 'how do you do it?'"

(rolling eyes)

To Black or not to Black

I used to heavily camp out in the "No Black" club. Eventually I started wanting a black, so I mixed my black and I was happy to do it. Until I realized, "Man, I use a lot of paint to get the black I want." I didn't want to use a "plain" black, because using a black straight out of a tube can make your painting look a little dead and flat, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing: 

Luncheon on the Grass, Edouard Manet, 1863

Color Temperature and Picking the Right Black

Using a tube black can help speed up the painting process, minimize the amount of wasted paint, and help you have more consistency throughout multi-day painting sessions. Knowing which black to use, with the right undertone and color temperature, is half the battle.

If you are mixing a warm black with cool colors in order to paint a cool shadow, you are going to get frustrated. Your black should always have the same color temperature as the colors you are mixing it into.   

Ivory Black is a warm, all around great black. Add Ivory Black to warm colors to maintain a warm color temperature. Payne's Gray can really help you round out your palette as it is the coolest black. Add Payne's Gray to cool colors to maintain a cool color temperature.

If, however, you want to just have a neutral black that won't change the color temperature at all, use Gamblin's Chromatic Black. 

All of the above information came from here, here and here. If you would like to read more about the cultural and historical significance of black, read here.

For more about other colors check out my main Tips and Techniques page.