Chase & Payton - The Underpainting

[Michael Georges]

Do you know how Bourgereau, Jaques Louis David and Ingres painted the flesh?

Tito, I can only guess that they painted it opaquely, but I cannot verify that assumption. Others may know more than I on their methods.

Tammy, Thanks for your kind words. Children's teeth are especially difficult as they are just coming in, are often crooked and not of a uniform size. Still, the smile captures the essence of this little one better than any pose with her mouth closed could - she is quite the charmer!

[Alicia Kornick]

Michael,

Can I safely substitute Gamblin's Flake White Replacement for regular flake white in the underpainting? I do not want to use lead paint. I used Gamblin's Flake White in the last underpainting I did, but another artist has brought to my attention the fat over lean rule. There is some concern that the Gamblin Flake White may be too "fat" to use in an underpainting and over time may crack.

What do you think?

[Michael Georges]

Alicia:

What medium are you using the Gamblin Flake Replacement with?

If it is something akin to an alkyd or turps, then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Let it dry for an extra day or two if you feel cautious.

The thing you want to be sure of is that the underpaint is as dry as it can be before you start painting on top of it. Alkyds will pose no problems to you as they dry quite fast and dry rock hard.

[Alicia Kornick]

Michael,

I am using Gamblin's Galkyd Lite for the underpainting and Gamblin's Neo Megilp for the overpainting. Thanks.

[Tito Champena]

Great underpainting, Michael!

Perhaps you can help me with this question.
Frank Covino says in his book that he adds a little bit of Zinc Yellow to the different values of gray to imitate the color of the indoor light. What color should I add to to grays to imitate an outdoor light? Thank you in advance.

[Michael Georges]

Hello Tito:

The sky above us is blue - close to an ultramarine blue. I mix up values of ultramarine from light to dark to tint the grays with.

I am learning that forms lit with indoor lighting don't look their best. It is better to have your subject in natural daylight to avoid that orangy look that indoor pics can give. A clear blue sky outdoors will make flesh look quite cool. If the sky is overcast, then less so, but still more cool and, IMrevisedO, more natural than any studio or indoor lighting will provide.

[Mike McCarty]

I've heard Karin Wells say here that Naples Yellow is the color of light.

[Michael Georges]

Mike, I would agree with you that Naples is close to the color of sunlight striking the form, but that would be mostly on the higher highlights. Outdoors in daylight, you will most often get a substantial cooling effect on flesh from the mass of the sky.

[Marvin Mattelson]

I respectfully disagree with the contention that lights in the sun have a cool appearance. From my observation of things in the sun, there is a warm quality in the lights. The cooler aspects occur in the top planes in shadow areas which are illuminated by the color of the sky. Shadows which have lower levels of illumination than lights are more easily influenced by the colors of surrounding areas. Under planes in sunlight are generally influenced by the color of the ground, especially the underplays closest to the ground. There is a fantastic painting by Gerome "Arabs Crossing the Desert" (which I am attaching a detail) that beautifully demonstrates painting in sunlight. I've had the pleasure of seeing the original and the top of the hindquarters of the grey horse is blue-purple reflecting the sky while the belly of the white horse is yellow reflecting the desert.

In respect to indoor light the color of the light would be dependent on the light source color. Incandescent light is very warm and natural north window light is much cooler. Shadow color is dependent on background colors reflecting into it, thus the old master technique of incorporating background colors into flesh shadows.

The key is to be armed with knowledge and study the situation first hand. Don

[Michael Georges]

Marvin:

I don't think we disagree at all. You may have misunderstood what I said, or I may not have been clear enough.

What I said was that I agreed with Mike and Karin that Naples approximates the higher highlights of sunlight on flesh - the color of the light.

I meant that flesh in true north daylight (not direct sun) tends to be cooler - the color of the sky, and that the majority of indoor or artificial lighting will be much warmer on flesh.

I am not applying any formula, just direct observation of what I have recently seen.

Further, I was responding to a direct question about the Covino method - what I told Tito is exactly what Frank told me and it works pretty well for mixing an outdoor flesh palette using his method.