My Process

My painting process is rooted in the indirect method of the Old Masters, built slowly through layered passes and careful observation. Working from lean underpainting to luminous glazes, this approach allows for depth, nuance, and a refined attention to detail.

The following images show how I painted one of my figure paintings using the indirect method. Please scroll through images 1 - 8 to experience my process.

1. Detailed drawing in graphite

1. Detailed drawing in graphite

2. Beginning Open Grisaille: a foundational, monochromatic underpainting technique in oil painting that uses thin, transparent, or semi-transparent layers—typically raw umber, black, or white—to establish values and form

2. Beginning Open Grisaille: a foundational, monochromatic underpainting technique in oil painting that uses thin, transparent, or semi-transparent layers—typically raw umber, black, or white—to establish values and form

3. Finished Open Grisaille

3. Finished Open Grisaille

4. Beginning Closed Grisaille: an opaque, monochromatic underpainting technique, often using shades of black, white, and brown (e.g., burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and white) to define the full value range and details of a subject

4. Beginning Closed Grisaille: an opaque, monochromatic underpainting technique, often using shades of black, white, and brown (e.g., burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and white) to define the full value range and details of a subject

5. Beginning First Color Pass

5. Beginning First Color Pass

6. Beginning Second Color Pass

6. Beginning Second Color Pass

7. Finished Second Color Pass

7. Finished Second Color Pass

8. Final Painting: added Detail and Glazings

8. Final Painting: added Detail and Glazings