The benefits of an underpainting.

Utilizing an underpainting is a very useful technique that I enjoy implementing into my work.

The underpainting helps me to establish my values before colour mixing and painting begins. You could think of the initial sketch as the skeleton and the underpainting as the muscle structure. Both of these elements are vitally important.

For this watercolour and gouache painting I used Windsor and Newton indigo for the underpainting.

Indigo helps to create a natural looking colour scheme; the cold temperature of the paint also assists in creating a more atmospheric and moody finish to the image.

Another advantage of using indigo is that it is a staining pigment. This means it seeps into the tooth of the paper rather than sitting on the surface. This is useful as the paint won’t lift off when you apply subsequent layers over it.