How Was That Painting Made?

Many people look in museums and see a complete painting and want to know...

"How was that done?" "What did the painting look like when it was being made?

Will we attempt to answer that question for you here.

Let's use a painting by John Singer Sargent as an example.

Please note: This reconstruction is not done so you can re-create only this painting. This re-creation is made to help you understand the process of oil painting, period. The exact same process you see here would be used if Sargent were painting an apple.

I have seen many re-constructions that are done so you can paint that same picture. If you want to do that, I suggest painting a "paint by numbers set."

Nobody ever can be 100% sure about how a painting was completed, but through study and experience one can get a good idea about how a painting was made.

The blank canvas would have been primed with white oil paint. This was done to convey a light feeling through the layers of paint that would follow.

It is always a good idea to start with a very light priming. The initial drawing was made on the canvas with either charcoal or directly with some dark lines of paint.

The drawing stage was more for placement than making a finished drawing. He would keep everything loose in case he wanted to make any changes. Perhaps the areas which would eventually be black or dark would be indicated as well. But at this stage, placement was first and foremost in his mind. Not color, not the girl's face, not the exact shape of anything...but placement on the canvas.

He was not thinking about drawing in the sense of a finished work of art. Simply establishing a nice composition on the canvas was the important thing.

You can see this beginning looks almost like the drawing of a child.

That is fine, he was just building his foundation for what is to come next. When a house is being built, the foundation looks nothing like a completed house. The same happens often with oil paintings.

When Sargent was satisfied with the composition it would be time to mass in (or lay-in) the painting.

The colors were mixed to the general overall tone of the masses such as the brown of the girl’s hair and the red of her sash and chain.

A general massing of color takes place in this stage. Details are not thought about yet.They will come later in the painting process. Are you worried about details when you are at this stage in your painting? You shouldn't be.

Just like in building a house...you must put up a wall before you can put in a window.

A general flesh color was established, and perhaps two flesh colors for the main areas of light and shadow. These were laid in on the girl’s face. As you can see, not much attention to detail at all in this stage.

As Sargent said, features like the eyes and mouth should be “drawn in” at the end. Edges are kept soft on purpose -- they are a detail as well.

The process of massing in the main areas of color is now revised.

Essentially, the same thing is done again, just more carefully. Edges become more established, corrections are made and features begin to get indicated. Note that I said "indicated" only. Not finished.

The main areas of light and shadow become more defined, like on the red sash and the shadow area on the girl's face.

He was always preparing his painting for those final strokes that make the painting special. That make Sargent the great painter that he was.

Those special things that can't be taught.

Now, the time has come. He has done his preparation well. His foundation was done. Time to start getting into the details now.

Time to make final decisions and get more into the real drawing part now. Outlines are sharpened even more. Light areas on the hair are established. Features can begin to be concentrated on because the main large shape of the face has been established. In other words, the foundation for the features was set.

In the last stages all the detail is worked out.

All of the things most people will notice and admire first (the fur on the dog, the wetness of the lips, the whites of the girl's eyes, etc.) are all added now.Yes he would take a lot of time getting these details right. But, he could give them his full concentration!

This is only possible because he spent so much time on his preparation. His main masses that hold the painting together.

The process is one of putting the details on top of the main masses. You keep putting paint on the canvas correcting and adding more detail. Only when Sargent had the large masses just the way he wanted them could he concentrate on the details. The eyes of the girl could have his full attention.

Sargent knew that the main masses were correct and would not have to worry about them. He could concentrate on only the details he was working on.

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