under painting

black_11_artist wrote

on 1 Sep 2010 8:22 AM

why is it some artists use raw umber or burnt umber for underpainting is it  to give warmth to the dead layer? wht not use other colors? thanks

DanaD12 wrote

on 1 Sep 2010 8:29 AM

And some portraitists use trans red oxide and even transparent blues and greens. 

For a lot of painters, it helps the paint to flow more smoothly if there's an underpainting.  No drag on the brushes.  But why they use raw umber or burnt umber is beyond me.  The burnt umber is a stainer paint and personally, I use it very sparingly as it's difficult to cover. 

j.b2 wrote

on 1 Sep 2010 8:51 AM

My colors of choice are transparent earth red & viridian.

I do not start all paintings the same the colors can change along with the way I start..

The reason for me is that I need to have something abstract and very general to begin. Then continue to work to the finish...

judyl40 wrote

on 1 Sep 2010 10:40 AM

I think the pigments that are chosen (umbers, etc) are based mainly on their transparent & fast-drying qualities.

This is especially important in any kind of underpainting or grisaille, where the lights are wiped out & the piece is built up using layers, often in transparent glazes.

ruth meaders wrote

on 1 Sep 2010 12:12 PM

I think raw umber is a pretty good undercoat because it has some warmth but burnt is too dead for me. Personally, I like yellow ochre or burnt sienna and sometimes I use red oxide too. Also, I am an oil painter but I often undercoat with acrylic as it dries very fast and it's OK with oil over it IF you don't  use impasto..

wildlifeart wrote

on 2 Sep 2010 4:02 AM

Hi,

I almost always use Burnt Sienna (acrylic) for my underpaintings, I find it gives me a nice range of tones and I then use it as a map showing where the lightest and darkest areas will be. As I paint wildlife the Burnt Sienna seems to be a natural colour to use and it also looks fine when it shows through in places.

slwaldon wrote

on 2 Sep 2010 8:33 AM

I believe the important thing to remember is that there are no rules in art except those of not mixing non-compatible substances. Don't want any undesirable chemical reactions.

Perhaps you could try a few small, simple pieces with a few different under colors and determine what you like best for your larger piece. What I would do is to section off a canvas into 4 to 8 portions, do a large simple drawing over the sections, paint each one in a different underpainting color, then finish the painting as you normally would. Then, you could decide which section to go with and do your piece. The main thing to remember is that the underpainting will make a difference.  The worst thing that can happen is, you get to do it again! Good luck with that.

Freiwald wrote

on 20 Oct 2010 11:41 AM

Burnt and raw umber are quite commonly employed in under-

paintings as they're the two fastest drying colors, period.  

of course, they other advantages, being earth colors, inexpen-    

sive, n' whatnot, but if there was a mystery, that's the answer.

Frei