Grisaille
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 Grisaille (pronounced greez-eye' or griz-eye')
is a painting term that means “gray tones”. The grisaille techniques
have been used in a variety of ways to produce many different results for
hundreds of years.
Old Masters
of the Renaissance and Baroque Eras used sunlight (and a handful of precious pigments)
to
paint their designs. In essence, they cherished the "inner
light" that played and danced through their network of colors on canvas, and
made that "inner light" an integral part of their paintings.
What is grisaille?
 The
artist must build a foundation in gray tones, black and white that will facilitate various kinds of effects when light tries to pass through or bounce
off the layers of paint.
The finished grisaille
can stand alone as a finished art work under the category of classic black and white.
Or, grisaille can be used as an underpainting, to create a framework or
structure over which color is then added to create the full colored art
work.
 In essence, an artist must capture the rhythm of
nature and allow light to dance playfully through an art work.
Coulter Grisaille™
multi-layered art works are
designed to contain passageways through which light can freely pass, producing
the special effects and illusions that the artist wants to achieve.
In essence, we are painting with light (and a
handful of precious colors) to produce color
radiance in our art works.
This concept was developed many centuries ago when pigments were
very scarce. The Old Masters had to push each individual pigment to its fullest capacity
to be able to achieve the luminosity in their art work that made them famous.
Coulter Grisaille™ offers several different
approaches to constructing a grisaille underpainting, each one depending upon
the finished result the artist desires. Upon that magical foundation,
radiant color is then applied lavishly to create the beautiful finished art
work.
Not every design requires brilliant
luminosity to achieve the desired results. However, even a soft misty
atmosphere should be enhanced by colors infused with natural sunlight to capture the
essence of life.
For more information, visit the
official grisaille painting website:
www.graytoneunderpainting.com
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