16″x20″
Oil on Oil Primed Linen Canvas on Baltic Birch

1. A detailed drawing
2. “Fixing” the drawing
3. An imprimatura
4. The umber layer
5. The dead layer
6. The color layers
7. The details

In the Flemish painting technique, the final half tone layer is called the dead layer. It’s my understanding that the name is taken from the fact that this layer is made up of shades of gray. A well-done painting at the dead layer phase should look like it’s being viewed by the light of a full moon.

The dead layer can tend warm or cool, but is usually cool. The most common colors used to create the color are Lamp Black, Prussian Blue and Burnt Umber in descending order. Titanium White is used to tint the mixture.

My current favorite dead layer recipe is 1 thumb Lamp Black, 1/2 thumb Prussian Blue, 1 thumbnail Burnt Umber, thoroughly mixed. Titanium White is added during the painting process to create lighter values. (I measure the paint by squeezing it onto the palette parallel to my left thumb. I like this method because I don’t have to spend time looking for a rule or other measuring device.)

A second recipe calls for equal parts of Lamp Black and Prussian Blue with Yellow Ochre ‘to taste’. The mix is tested frequently to get the color I want, then I lighten the mixture with Titanium White. This is a much bluer mix than the first recipe and is closer to the ‘light of the full moon’ ideal.

The color of the dead layer varies depending on the final colors of the painting. I personally like to have a dead layer that’s either neutral to or the compliment of the final overall color of the painting.

Whichever recipe I use, I add Titanium White to the mix before painting begins to keep the darkest values from being too dark.

For Keyodee Star, I used the first recipe.

The first step in the dead layer process is shown above. I painted the interior of the stall first, concentrating on duplicating the look of wood grain and old wood in half tones. The area was prepped with a rubbing of walnut oil, which was applied with my fingers and rubbed throughout the area until it was warm and spread evenly. Excess was removed with a paper towel.

NOTE:

One thing to note at this stage. If a significant amount of color comes up when excess oil is removed, the paint layer is not dry enough. Paper towel shouldn’t lift color at this stage. If it does, the painting needs to be set aside to dry.

Once the area was ready to paint, I applied a flat, even tone to the entire area, then worked back into it with the details. An angle shader was used to suggest wood grain and a sable round was used to paint the seams between each plank. To keep those details in the background, they were dry brushed with a sable flat using very light pressure – almost just a whisper touch – and a vertical stroke.

The last thing for that session was the horizontal cross beam. I used the same order of application and brushstrokes, but worked paint in a horizontal direction.

The following day, I reviewed the work and made a couple of adjustments. Another review the next day and a couple of more minor adjustments and that area was done. The painting was set aside to dry completely before I moved on to the next section.

The dead layer progressed section by section in that fashion. I worked generally background to foreground and left to right in each area.

In order of completion, I did the right side of the outside wall and the stall door, then  the left side of the outside wall. When those two areas were completed, I adjusted them as a whole so the background was working well together.

The painting dried thoroughly between each session and it took about a month to paint the entire background.

At that point, all that remained was painting the horse, which I also did in sections, just as I’d done the background. But since I worked the horse so that each area (neck, ears, face, muzzle, etc.) were painted without waiting for other areas to dry, it took less time to finish the horse. It was still about a week’s worth of work placing the basic tones and major details. When that was finished, I went through the entire horse and adjusted highlights and shadows to create the best possible image.

Most of the subsequent work will be transparent, so it’s important to have everything as close to finished as possible at this phase. There will be no opportunity to ‘cover things up’ without major work if a mistake makes it to the color phase.

So before considering a dead layer complete, I photograph it for client review. If they approve the dead layer, I give the painting a last review. If I see nothing that needs correction or improvement, the painting goes into a three-week drying phase. If the client or I see things that need correction or improvement, I make them at this phase. It’s much easier to make corrections – even major corrections – in a half tone painting than it is to make corrections in the glazing process.

The second image shows the portrait of Keyodee Star at the finished dead layer phase.

©Copyright 2009 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.