The Painting Process
The process of creating a painting varies from medium to medium and from individual to individual. It is
best to have a canvas or panel with a prepared ground (acrylic gesso or traditional gesso made from
animal glue and chalk), or paper, painting tools, a medium (blending solution), and some solvent (either
mineral spirits for oil or water for acrylic). Here is a general outline of creating a painting.
The Drawing or Cartoon: When one has decided on a composition that they would like to produce as a
painting, the first thing that they must do is transfer that idea to the canvas. This is usually done in the
form of a freehand drawing sometimes called the cartoon. One can translate a drawing with great
accuracy by using a grid which has been drawn over the original, then creating a larger grid on the
canvas and follow the pattern. Today, the use of overhead projectors is quite common. Because of the
transparency of many pigments, it is advisable to do this drawing with a thin wash of a neutral color like
raw umber or yellow ochre using one of your brushes. Another option is to make your cartoon to size,
and transfer the drawing by rubbing charcoal on the back of the cartoon. Simply retrace your lines
while the cartoon is on your support.
Color and Palette: After one has transferred the image it is important to evaluate the color that will be
used. Create limitations on color. Choose a specific limited palette of colors to use on your painting. For
example if you are painting some foliage, you may want to stick with blues, yellows and greens of
varying intensity and perhaps use a red as an accent. Since red is a complementary color to green it
helps to activate it. By setting aside some color, like browns or oranges, you can focus the color so that
your color information is more specific. Avoid trying to use all the colors in one painting and do not
underestimate the power of neutral colors in a composition. Avoid simple black and white.
Try to work fat over thin, that is, as you build up layers in your painting (glazing) make each successive
layer the same or slower in its drying time. One does this because slower drying in the under painting
can result in cracking caused by escaping gases from areas which are not completely dry. In oil painting,
solvents speed drying time and oils slow it down. Work with more oil in the upper layers and more
solvents in the lower ones. Fat over thin is also important in acrylic painting. Use acrylic gels (medium)
that slow drying in the upper layers. Medium gels in acrylic are the plastic polymer with no pigment
added. Medium in oil painting are numerous, such as linseed oil, poppy oil, copaiba, balsam, walnut oil
and even sunflower oil! Solvents for oil are mineral spirits and turpentine. Acrylic uses water.
Watercolor is more direct. Traditional watercolor uses cotton based paper and transparent colors. The
white of the paper serves as the white in a wc painting. Weakest colors go on first, stronger colors last.
Glazes can be created by careful layering of wet paint over dry paint. Watercolor is very unforgiving as
errors cannot be easily removed or painted over as in oil and acrylic.
Tempera and encaustic are very old painting methods. In general, tempera combines pigment and egg
yolk/water to make the medium. It is a transparent paint that dries immediately. It also needs a stiff
support to avoid cracking. Encaustic is hot bee’s wax and pigment on a sturdy support. Both are still
used today.
The process of creating a painting varies from medium to medium and from individual to individual. It is
best to have a canvas or panel with a prepared ground (acrylic gesso or traditional gesso made from
animal glue and chalk), or paper, painting tools, a medium (blending solution), and some solvent (either
mineral spirits for oil or water for acrylic). Here is a general outline of creating a painting.
The Drawing or Cartoon: When one has decided on a composition that they would like to produce as a
painting, the first thing that they must do is transfer that idea to the canvas. This is usually done in the
form of a freehand drawing sometimes called the cartoon. One can translate a drawing with great
accuracy by using a grid which has been drawn over the original, then creating a larger grid on the
canvas and follow the pattern. Today, the use of overhead projectors is quite common. Because of the
transparency of many pigments, it is advisable to do this drawing with a thin wash of a neutral color like
raw umber or yellow ochre using one of your brushes. Another option is to make your cartoon to size,
and transfer the drawing by rubbing charcoal on the back of the cartoon. Simply retrace your lines
while the cartoon is on your support.
Color and Palette: After one has transferred the image it is important to evaluate the color that will be
used. Create limitations on color. Choose a specific limited palette of colors to use on your painting. For
example if you are painting some foliage, you may want to stick with blues, yellows and greens of
varying intensity and perhaps use a red as an accent. Since red is a complementary color to green it
helps to activate it. By setting aside some color, like browns or oranges, you can focus the color so that
your color information is more specific. Avoid trying to use all the colors in one painting and do not
underestimate the power of neutral colors in a composition. Avoid simple black and white.
Try to work fat over thin, that is, as you build up layers in your painting (glazing) make each successive
layer the same or slower in its drying time. One does this because slower drying in the under painting
can result in cracking caused by escaping gases from areas which are not completely dry. In oil painting,
solvents speed drying time and oils slow it down. Work with more oil in the upper layers and more
solvents in the lower ones. Fat over thin is also important in acrylic painting. Use acrylic gels (medium)
that slow drying in the upper layers. Medium gels in acrylic are the plastic polymer with no pigment
added. Medium in oil painting are numerous, such as linseed oil, poppy oil, copaiba, balsam, walnut oil
and even sunflower oil! Solvents for oil are mineral spirits and turpentine. Acrylic uses water.
Watercolor is more direct. Traditional watercolor uses cotton based paper and transparent colors. The
white of the paper serves as the white in a wc painting. Weakest colors go on first, stronger colors last.
Glazes can be created by careful layering of wet paint over dry paint. Watercolor is very unforgiving as
errors cannot be easily removed or painted over as in oil and acrylic.
Tempera and encaustic are very old painting methods. In general, tempera combines pigment and egg
yolk/water to make the medium. It is a transparent paint that dries immediately. It also needs a stiff
support to avoid cracking. Encaustic is hot bee’s wax and pigment on a sturdy support. Both are still
used today.
