Grisaille with Glazing in Color Watercolor Painting Technique

Grisaille with Glazing in Color Watercolor Painting Technique

Article by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

A monochrome grisaille lacks colors by its definition. However, it should not be disregarded if you plan to do more colorful artworks while keeping well-defined tonal values. A combination of grisaille and glazing in color can be a solution in such a case.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

The concept of this watercolor technique is quite similar to the traditional multilayer oil painting. You may know this method by the name of the Flemish painting technique. It follows the principles that have been developed in Europe by the Old Masters: an artwork has to start on a white background, a very pale tint forms the first layer, imprimatura (transparent layers of "dead colors") create grisaille and the painting is finished with full color on top, including transparent layers of glazing.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

In watercolor, however, the artist has not got the luxury of adding white into tints and therefore the technique is modified to take extra care in preserving white and light areas.

Tonal values can be painted in one neutral color, as in grisaille. The grisaille, in this case, is much lighter in tone. This gives room to build darker tonal values when adding washes of transparent glazing in full color on top.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

Thorough planning is required for this method. The grisaille has to be completely dry before continuing with colors. Paint which granulates less must be chosen for the job because heavily pigmented under-glazing will look dull under the transparent layers. Dyes are better suited because they are less likely to get muddy and are resistant to washing out.

Sketch by Vladimir London, Watercolor Academy tutor

The color of the grisaille will greatly influence the overall color gamut of the artwork. That is why the main downside of this method is that an artwork may come out muted in color and darker in tone, and therefore can appear dull.

Nevertheless, this method is good for architectural illustrations and for artworks where the artist intends to put more focus on the tonal values rather than on a wide gamut of colors. Sometimes, the artist may use the grisaille method with colorful glazing in portrait painting when the creative aim is to achieve a more sculptural look.

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