Friday, September 3, 2010

Grisaille


The term grisaille comes from the French for "a method of painting in gray monotone." On the last afternoon that I was in my recent workshop at Daniel Gerhartz's studio, I knew my time would be cut short, so Dan suggested I try painting in a "grisaille method." Many of today's portrait artists use this technique to create an undertone for what will be a finished, full-color painting. As you can see here, today's interpretation of the original definition uses colors other than just gray. This quick study was a wonderful way to take advantage of every opportunity I had while studying with Dan. I learned so much and can't thank him enough for his generous time and talent!