Yes, I painted the SAME bell pepper FIVE times!!
Yes, I am giving away a FREE painting.
Keep reading to find out how to get the free painting.
1. Direct method, 10 hrs.
2. Flemish method, 27 hrs.
3. Modified Flemish method, 16 hrs.
4. Underpainting with raw umber, 13 hrs.
5. Alla Prima, 1.5 hr.
6. Impasto (abstract), 20 min.
Oil paints are very versatile and can be used in many different ways. There is no right or wrong way to use them (unless your painting cracks or colors become dull but there’s ways to prevent that). When I learned oil painting for the first time, many years ago, I was introduced to the direct method. Later I learned the traditional methods which I find fascinating.
I decided to compare these methods by painting the exact same bell pepper so that I could see (and share) exactly what each method has to offer. It’s almost like an experiment but I can’t call it scientific due to the fact that I am a human being (I couldn’t find a robot willing to paint a bell pepper five times!).
This article is NOT a tutorial. There are already many tutorials on the internet. What I am showing here are the steps (layers) that took to create each painting with its particular method so that you can get a general idea of how a painting is built and how one layer affects the next (in the case of multi-layered methods). I am also including the time it took to complete each painting. I tend to work slow, if you are an artist, you probably can achieve each of these paintings faster than me (let me know in the comments!). With the exception of Alla Prima and Impasto, I completed these paintings in more than one session.
I hope this article serves two purposes:
Provide a little education and art appreciation to potential art buyers.
If you are learning to paint and you are not sure which method is best for you, this might help you find a path.
These are the methods that I am comparing:
1. Direct method (the one I mention at the beginning of the article)
2. Flemish method (the most traditional of all methods, google it, it’s super old!!!)
3. Modified version of the Flemish method (similar to the Grisaille method)
4. Underpainting with raw umber
5. Alla Prima (similar to the direct method but not as precise when it comes to the brush work)
6. Impasto (similar to alla prima but with even thicker paint, I just made this one with left over paint, and yes this is the painting that I am giving away for FREE!! By the way, it is not a bell pepper)
The photos of each step (layer) were taken with my iphone, while the final version was scanned. Contrary to popular belief, iphone photos are not accurate representations of reality (iphones exaggerate colors and contrast). I didn't scan every single step because it would've taken me a very long time. The iphone photos are just to give you an idea of the steps. The final scanned version is the most accurate representation of each final painting. I made sure that what you see on the screen is the closest possible to the actual painting. I do this with every painting I upload on my website so that everybody can see what each of my paintings actually looks like (or the closest possible to the real painting, seeing something on a screen will never be 100% the same).
I used the same colors on all 6 paintings except for the umbers and black:
burnt umber for the Flemish (2) and modified Flemish (3)
raw umber for the other 4 methods
lamp black for the Flemish (2) and modified Flemish (3)
The rest of the colors are:
titanium white
scarlet
cadmium yellow
cinnabar green yellowish
viridian
french ultramarine
The size of each canvas is 10 x 10 x 1.75 inches (with the exception of the abstract painting, that one is not mounted therefore it has no depth).
1. Direct method
10 hrs.
Charcoal drawing
Background and wooden table while preserving the white of the canvas
First color layer. The white of the canvas makes the scarlet very vibrant, almost as if it had light on its own.
On this last layer I added more scarlet to make the bell pepper more intense in some areas and also darker in other areas (using raw umber and sometimes ultramarine blue mixed with the scarlet).
2. Flemish Method
27 hrs.
Charcoal drawing
Ink drawing
Imprimatura
First umber underlayer
Second umber underlayer (excuse the light reflection)
Dead layer (that's what it's called)
As you can see, the Flemish method is a multilayered approach. It's a little bit more complex than what it's shown here, but to put it in simple words, the visual appearance of an artwork is created by optical mixing. This optical mixing is achieved by transparent and semi-transparent glaze layers. Some colors are also applied opaquely. The next two methods are also multilayered, include transparent and semi-transparent layers as well as opaque colors.
3. Modified version of the Flemish method (similar to the Grisaille method)
16 hrs.
Charcoal drawing
Gray layer
First color layer
For this modified version of the Flemish method I intentionally skipped the Imprimatura as well as the Umber underlayers. Since those underlayers get covered almost entirely with the Dead layer, I wanted to see what would happen if the painting was started directly with gray.
4. Underpainting with raw umber
13 hrs.
Charcoal drawing
First Layer with raw umber and titanium white
In this second layer I darkened the background using raw umber and ultramarine blue
One color layer was enough!
5. Alla Prima
1.5 hr.
Charcoal drawing
Only one layer! This method is super easy to achieve plus you get the instant satisfaction of finishing one painting in a VERY SHORT amount of time! This method of painting is very popular nowadays which is a reflection of the world we live in today: we want everything fast! (nothing wrong with that). A lot of artists on ebay are able to make thousands of paintings this way and have a large inventory. This method is excellent for beginners. I used to teach at a retirement home where the seniors with no previous experience were able to produce very nice paintings using this method!
6. Impasto
20 min.
Impasto is another method that is also super easy to achieve and even faster! You don't even need brushes. I used an old credit card to move the paint around on the canvas and some palette knives. Yes, this is NOT a bell pepper. It's just an abstract painting. I think everybody should try doing abstract art. You really don't need much experience (just some basic knowledge of the materials). This is the painting I am giving away for FREE with the purchase of any of the bell peppers. I only have this abstract painting available so hurry before some else gets it!
Now let's compare them all together! Focus more on the colors of the actual bell pepper (not necessarily the exactness of the shapes nor the background or the table because I played around more with those areas and I also because I am not a robot!). Which one do you like best and why? Please scroll down to the comments section and let me know! I will greatly appreciate your input.
1. Direct method, 10 hrs.
4. Underpainting with raw umber, 13 hrs.
2. Flemish method, 27 hrs.
5. Alla Prima, 1.5 hr.
3. Modified Flemish method, 16 hrs.
6. Impasto (abstract), 20 min.
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