Traditional Oil Painting Methods
“Love Might Return Draft”, Oil on board, 6 × 8 inches”, 2026
“Love Might Return Draft monotone”, Oil on board, 6 × 8 inches”, 2026
For the past couple of weeks I have been reading about painting methods of the past. This started because of dissatisfaction with acrylic gesso as a ground for canvas and trying out an oil ground as a canvas base layer. In reading about the traditional preparation of canvas I started reacquainting myself with methods of painting that happen in steps instead of all at once. What I am doing in this 6 x 8 inch panel is similar to what early painters in oil did. Here you see the initial outline drawing and then a tonal monotone under painting that the Italian painters called verdaccio that would be followed by layers of glazed colour. I have used mixtures of Burnt Sienna, Paynes Grey, and Titanium White. Next step will be colour derived from a limited palette similar to what painters of 500 years ago used. I’m not trying to recreate what painters did in the past exactly, just changing my methods to have fun and see if there’s something here I can use.
