2 of 4 Portrait painting technique, glazing oil paint over grisaille, 1st glaze - with voiceover

The next instalment, continuing to glaze over this grisaille. I arrived at this technique because it is a very practical solution to painting portraits under time pressure. When clients commission a portrait painting they expect it within a given time frame, and when there are also a lot of other things going on it is a great oil painting method to use. Methodical and pragmatic, painting with a grisaille underpainting is a bit like building a house. Make sure the foundation is solid, and then everything else follows. For me, if the drawing in an oil painting is lacking somehow I can spend a lot of time going back over it which can be very time consuming. I have found that the key to painting with the grisaille technique is to ensure that the grisaille underpainting is not lost while the oil glazes go on, and then you can keep painting as many glazes over this as you like because the foundation of the portrait, the drawing, remains solid.