In an effort to answer some of the questions I regularly receive about technique I have posted some works in progress. Most are fairly limited, but when I find the time, future posts will reveal more...

THIS IS HOW I PAINT
*(spoiler alert)
* The following information may diminish the magical illusion of oil painting. If you wish to maintain some naive sense of wonder
STOP READING NOW.

Maybe it's my theatrical background, but the style of painting that most appeals to me is Tenebrism. Images that appear to emerge from the darkness, much like actors on stage, stepping into the spotlight.

Although I'm always searching for revelations in technique, the way I usually paint is called "glaze and scumble". It produces a very finely rendered image, no thicker than a human hair, with an almost subliminal depth. The smooth paint surface does not distract the viewer away from the illusion.

I start with a very basic grisaille, (grey tone), much like a black and white photograph. To this, layers of colored glaze are added. Each layer must dry before the next is applied, so it is quite time consuming and the reason I usually have a few paintings going at once.

When the desired coloration is achieved a few highights and shadows are added with a slightly more opaque paint, (this is the scumbling part), to round out the figure and give it final a sense of volume.