Drawing is a fundamental study and preparatory tool to begin a painting. Here is a “blurred” photo of a simply shaped white porcelain object – in this case, a small pitcher. I’ve blurred the image to better see the light and dark shapes.
I’m going to make a study of the pitcher in graphite, looking carefully at lights, darks and edges. The background will also be determined by value: a combination of dark against dark backgrounds, light against light, and areas somewhere in between. This will give a sense of enveloping space.
The next step will be a transferring of this drawing to a toned canvas, over which a grisaille (black to white toned) underpainting will be done. The canvas is toned using an oil wash of burnt sienna. Not too transparent, not too opaque.
I’ve put the sacred geometric grid directly on the canvas above, using vine charcoal. Look for the next post, when I will redraw a diagrammatic image of the pitcher. For now, I will practice my grisaille values by making a value chart that progresses from black to white, on a small canvas panel.
