River Baptism

 Background is painted first in order to establish lighting environment. First phase of subject.

Phase 2 close-up.

Long shot of phase 2 with raw umber and terra verde added to chromatic underpainting. 

Approximately  21" x 26" 

Oil Painting on stretched canvas

This is the first stage of the painting. The image was taken from a 1920's collection of photographs taken in the rural south by Doris Ulmann.

I did a graphite study of this photo while attending the University of Iowa's Shool of Fine Art in the late '70's.  My drawing instructor at the time; Ron Graef, thought it was the only piece that I had done the entire semester. I have to admit, I did learn a lot about the true art of drawing while working on that piece.

I will do a complete black and white under-painting, then later apply layers of color.

This is the Grisaille (an underpainting method attributed to the French). In medieval times this medthod was also known as the "dead coloring". 

This under-painting technique greatly facilitates a more accurate depiction of light and chromatic subtleties. 

The Italians also used an underpainting method called a "Verdaccio" (grey-green tonal scale). Many artists experiment with other color combinations in their chromatic underpainting.

Below, various stages, and the finished painting.