Verdaccio

Renee Brown · 12-01-2001, 01:55 PM

My latest painting is a portrait of the Madonna, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the old masters technique of Verdaccio. I am happy to see Michael George here at Strokes. He and two others walked me through the entire process and his advice was invaluable. He is a gifted artist and a welcome addition to Stroke of Genius.

The cherubs are from Velasquez and Titian. The painting will now be set aside to dry, be fixed with Damar and then the glazes will begin.

The model is my daughter-in-law, whom I draped and lit with my new studio lighting based upon Karin Wells lighting setup, which she so generously shares with all of us on her website.

Renee

Karin Wells · 12-03-2001, 12:02 AM

A lovely drawing indeed....but, is this charcoal? Fixed with Damar varnish? Spray? On canvas?

I am anxious to see the next steps and would appreciate that you post this painting as it progresses along with a little technical info. on each stage.

I have no idea what "Verdaccio" is and would appreciate knowing some background about it.

Michael Georges · 12-03-2001, 12:16 AM

Verdaccio, meaning "Greenish-First" in Italian. It is a form of underpainting in monochrome used by many painters since the 1300s. Cennino Cennini mentions mixing verdaccio colors in his book "Il Libro Dell Arte" done I believe around 1437?

The cool gray green undertones make a wonderful complement to the warm skin tones laid over them. You leave some of that gray-green showing through and it really helps create a vibrancy in the skin tones. This method is currently being tought by (among others) the Covino school.

Karin Wells · 12-03-2001, 12:29 AM

The above picture looks like a charcoal drawing...my monitor does not show it with any green.

I use a grisaille underpainting method and usually mix raw umber and titanium white to achieve this.

Sometimes I add yellow ochre to this mixture and it takes on a greenish hue...could I have been using Verdaccio all along and just not have known the name?

See http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=190

Renee Brown · 12-03-2001, 08:20 AM

Karin,

Below is the charcoal drawing in it's final stages just before the verdaccio started . Compare it to the verdaccio image above (painted) and you can really see a big difference. Yes, the charcoal was fixed with damar reworkable spray (ugh! Spray it outside!)and it is on a 14" x 18" canvas. I bought a gorgeous mahogany frame to compliment this painting. If I remember correctly, the verdaccio will be sprayed with Damar to accentuate the difference in the values. That's correct, Michael, isn't it?

There are varying amounts of chromium oxide green, mars black and titanium white in my mixes. Perhaps I should add more green next time, but for my first effort, I was more concerned with hitting the values correctly.

The painting is drying now and I will post again as the glazes go on. This is a project for the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the painting has to be delivered in two weeks. I hope they have proper ventilation!

People should really learn to give the artist more time.

Karin, Your copy of Ingres is beautiful and that thread is very helpful! Do you ever use this method for commissioned portraits? If so, do you charge more for this method which certainly takes a lot longer to complete?

Renee

Karin Wells · 12-03-2001, 10:16 AM

Now I see it. Thanks, and be sure to post the finished piece.

To answer your question, I use some kind of underpainting method in all of my paintings. It takes more time to paint this way than with an a la prima method, but no, I don't charge any more for this....my prices even include the frame.

Michael Georges · 12-03-2001, 12:28 PM

Karin: Nice work on the Ingres copy. You are doing the same type of underpainting as we are, you just aren't using our fancy name!

BTW: Titanium white is very fat. It takes a ton of oil to make titanium into paint. Your process might be better served if you considered swapping titanium out for a lead white - either Flake or Crementz. A lot of people have reservations about using lead paints, but if you use a modicum of care, they really are just fine. They dry faster and are better for the painting in the long term because you are putting a lean layer under rather than a fat layer.

Karin Wells · 12-03-2001, 04:03 PM

Because I have serious concerns about the use of lead paint, I use titanium white instead because it is opaque and covers so well. I figured that my Liquin medium overrides the "fat" in the bottom layers problem.

I used to use Permalba white all the time because it paints so well, but because it is a 50%-50% mixture of titanium and zinc, it does not cover as well as straight titanium white.

I only know three kinds of white paint....lead, titanium and zinc....with different mixtures and grades thereof. I have never tried Crementz white....what is it made of?

Maybe we should start a new post on the subject of white oil paint?

Marta Prime · 12-03-2001, 05:28 PM

I know Gamblin makes a color known as Flake White Replacement (no lead) but I have been hesitant to try it without some feedback first. I use Titanium White for the same reasons as Karin. Anyone have any experience with the Flake White Replacement?

Cynthia Daniel · 12-03-2001, 05:41 PM

Karin,

I copied over the last 3 posts to White Oil Paint in the Painting, Mediums section.