What is underpainting?

Answer 1

The process of creating a painting is often divided into stages to make the overall process more manageable. Underpainting is a first stage in that process. It is a thin, monochromatic (single color) version of painting that establishes the composition, drawing, and tonal relationships - before the application of color. The underpainting serves as a foundation; it underlies the color, detail, and additional paint layers that are applied in the later stages of the painting.

Using an architectural analogy, the underpainting is like a "blueprint." A blueprint shows all the parts of the building and how those parts relate to each other. It is not the complete building, yet it is essential for its construction. In the same way, an underpainting is not a complete painting - it lacks color - but it serves as a guide for the placement of subsequent layers of paint.

The further along a painting is in its development, the more difficult it can be to make changes. By resolving issues of composition, drawing and tone at the outset, the painter reduces the chances that they will need to backtrack and make corrections. Underpainting supports an organized and logical approach that can save the painter much time and error.

Underpainting is a traditional, formal method of beginning a painting that has been used for centuries. As practiced by the classical masters it was an elaborate and time consuming process, yielding highly realistic and developed underpaintings. Contemporary painters often use a more simplified version of underpainting, sometimes called a "wipeout" or "block-in," yet it supports the same visual strategy.

Underpaintings are typically done with dark-toned pigments like burnt umber. A dark pigment (as opposed to a naturally light pigment such as yellow) allows the painter to achieve a wide range of tonal options from dark to light. However, painters can use almost any color for the underpainting. as long as it is dark enough to give ample tonal range. This pigment color is usually chosen time to work with the intended color strategy.

As effective as underpainting is, it is not used by all artists. There are many approaches to painting, some very direct and spontaneous, in which the artist may feel restricted by the formality of underpainting.

As a note, the word underpainting is used as both a noun (the underpainting itself) and a verb (as in the act of underpainting).