Which Underpainting Technique is Better? part one

'Believe in Summer'       16x20       pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $325

It suddenly occurred to me. Underpainting techniques are like foreign languages. They are both sometimes a challenge to learn and achieve fluency. It take practice to really understand the ins and outs of any underpainting technique...what paper to use, what colors to use, what subject is best, how to make the technique work. But oh how wonderful when they are mastered!  A whole new world is open to you. Like learning to speak another language. Taking the time and effort to learn a new language opens up a whole new world. It takes effort but it is well worth it.

Being fluent in Underpaintings adds more tools to your painting toolbox.

I am often asked to share my favorite underpainting technique or what underpainting technique is best.  I don't really have a favorite. I love them all and for different reasons. Each technique gives different results and in the end it all boils down to a personal preference for those results.

Tools of the trade: a limited oil palette, gambol and an old bristle brush

To illustrate this point I decided to try the same subject with two different underpainting techniques and compare the resulting paintings. Today I will share the first technique....an oil stain underpainting.

Wonderful drips and spider webs in an oil stain underpainting

 I have written much about the oil stain underpainting and blog articles can be found using the search box. (if you are reading my blog via email head over to the actual blog to search www.karenmargulis.com)  An oil stain underpainting is done using oil paint thinned to the consistency of tea with odorless mineral spirits.  If you can see the brush marks in the paint then it is too thick. You don't want to fill up the tooth of the paper. You do need to use a paper or surface that can get wet. I am using Uart paper for this painting.  It takes practice to figure out the right consistency of paint vs. OMS but that is the fun of it....discovery and happy accidents.

I love oil underpaintings for two reasons....the intensity and vibrancy of color and the unsual and unpredictable drips and spiderwebby things that happen when the paint is drying.

click to enlarge

I believe that the underpainting sets the stage for the painting. Starting with a rich and vibrant underpainting leads more easily to a rich and vibrant painting. The rich color and strong darks in this oil stain underpainting influenced the pastels I selected for the painting. It was a bold underpainitng and I kept the bold feeling as I painted.

the pastels used for this painting

 Now let's try another language! What would happen if I try the same subject with a watercolor underpainting? Stay tuned!

Painting Notes: 16x20 on unmounted Uart 500. I used an older painting as my inspiration so there is no reference photo available.

Research for Better Paintings

'Plight of the Bumblebees'          18x24         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $500

I had a concept in mind. I wanted to paint a meadow and fill it with bees. But I was leaning towards an early morning sky instead of a bright blue-sky day.  I picture bees buzzing around flowers on a warm summer day so I wasn't sure if my concept would be a believable scenario. Do bees pollinate at dusk or sunrise or early morning or cloudy days? I obviously didn't know enough about bees and I didn't want to put bees into the wrong environment or conditions.

For paintings to be authentic and feel right they need to be true to real life.

Sure, we can get away with a lot when painting. After all we are the artists and can do whatever we want. But sometimes understanding the science and natural history behind a scene can  help make the painting better.

So I did a little research and asked Google if bees pollinated during overcast conditions or early morning. You learn something everyday and I learned that BUMBLEBEES do pollinate under many more conditions than honeybees. They are active at 40 degrees F and will pollinate early in the morning and later into the day as well as on cloudy, overcast , windy and even rainy days!  They are larger and carry more pollen and are more efficient than honeybees.

It was interesting information that helped me decide that it would be just fine to put some bumblebees into my early morning meadow. 

Oil stain underpainting on Uart 500 grade paper

close-up of the bumblebees

 It was a valuable lesson. Not just in learning about the difference between bumblebees and honeybees but it reinforced the importance of really knowing the landscape. To paint the truth we must know what is true.