pastel as underpainting for oil?
 

Hi
Today I tried to prepare an underpainting for oil painting.
I did a little background of green -grey acrilic ( I don't know if it's okay),
then I used pastel-pencil ; I fixed it and I began with oil colors.
I made from an ugly photo so I put dead ones.
The canvas is quite large (60 x70 cm) ..next post I'll show the following of it...

This is the complete canvas in pastel ...
And in oil...It's not finished jet. I know there are a lot of thins to
improve.
Adriano

I've never seen anything like that, but I liked the portrait very much.

Hi Claudemir
I did my son fifteen years ago in the same way.
That's the painting.
ciao
Adriano

You paint very well Adriano, I liked both paintings very much.
I just would like to know how this sort of underpainting helps you.

Nice weekend.

Hi Claudemir
First of all I only know this way of painting. Unless I follow a Tony Pro's workshop I'll go on painting this way. The advantages are many.
1)you get quickly the cromatic balance by pastel. (if you use turpentine you must wait for a day)
2)You get the shadow and the light value immediately and you have to mix the color already indicated.
3) the shadow can be glazed by a glaze of complementary color that scumbles the final value.
4) some parts of the canvas can remain as you put on pastel initially. You don't have to cover the entire surface.
Ciao

I forgot the last one!

Very interesting.

I only paint directly on the canvas.

What do you fix the pastel with to prevent it mixing with the paint?

I usually use hair spray becouse it smells good ,but any fixative for charcoal will do.
Ciao

I use hair spray to fix my charcoal drawings too, that is not as toxic as the other sprays, I use them for years and I never had trouble doing it. The point is, you cannot trust some brands.

Hi Claudemir
if you are seying that sometimes it doesn't work,then you just have to
touch the charcoal and try another brand.

Hello Adriano

You asked me to comment here, but I haven't got an answer for you regarding the technique of putting pastel under oil painting. The only thing that does concern me is how hairspray might react with the oil paint - what it might do to the painted surface after time. Perhaps you should do some research into more environmentally-friendly art fixatives that have been tested to use with oil paint. I am sure there's something out there.

Also, although I hate to stick my oar in, I am not sure why you would want to cover up a good, finished and satisfying pastel work with oil - why not just do an oil painting as well as the pastel.

[Hi Thomasin
I don't realy do a soft pastel,but something harder(with a square section). I do it in half an hour, that helps me to
get a quicker chromatic balance ,to avoid the blankness of the canvas and find a tone colour nearer reality.
I don't know a better way to start oil painting without waiting for the turpentine first level.
Bye
Adriano

Hi Adriano,

I really like the depth created between the girl's face and the background in the first image of the second post. The contrast between the detail of the face and the looseness of the background is great. It has a similar effect as Pino Dangelico's work (example ). It might be worth exploring the idea of letting some of the pastel show through in the loose areas.


I was told by an art professor that using bunt umber (or similar color) for the under painting helped to bring out a "realistic" depth to the layers of skin. This is assuming that the layers of oil on top of the under painting are not overly thick of course. I'm not sure how true it is, but I would guess that the color of the pastels might play a role in this as well. It would be interesting to do a comparison between the two methods.

Justin

Edit: I just realized that the year on this post was 2006. Please forgive my newness.

Hi Justin,
You can use burnt umber to sketch the features for the face.
It shines under the painting and harmonizes other colours.
It may crack after years if you put it heavily.
In my son's portrait I left on the surface the pastel I put first.( you can see it on the neck.)
Anyway I don't paint in oil as well as Pino does. I hope to learn in the future. By now I use the pastel as underpainting because it helps me to get the deepness whithout waiting till the oil is dried.
Ciao
Adriano