Grisaille Watercolor Painting Technique

Grisaille Watercolor Painting Technique

Article by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

Grisaille is the technique for painting in one color, usually gray monochrome. Its name comes from the French "gris", which is gray.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

Painting in grisaille is a very powerful method of depicting tonal values. That is why it is suitable for portraying sculptures, architectural drawings, and plans.

Other colors like browns and greens are also good for this technique.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

Depending on the creative task, almost all the painting methods described in this article can be used to make a grisaille artwork. Working wet-on-wet, making washes and adding details in dry-brush and wet-on-dry: each method will contribute differently to the painting appearance.

Because grisaille is often used for well-defined detailed artworks, you may find that painting in multiple layers of washes and working in wet-on-dry gives much more control over the process and almost eliminates the unpredictability of wet watercolor effects.

Practicing this technique is a great way for a beginner to practice rendering tonal values in watercolor. Only one color is involved which means there is less to worry about like how to mix colors, both on the palette and the artwork, while achieving the necessary tonal values. Instead, the artist can concentrate fully on illustrating realistic tonal effects in monochrome.

In the Watercolor Academy course, you can watch the step-by-step process of painting in grisaille the architectural artwork "The Fluted Column with Ionic Capital".

Painting by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

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