Painting the Figure in a Grisaille Palette

This course aims to teach students how to properly create a strong understanding of classical figure painting using a limited grisaille palette. Students will learn how to premix paint, form an underpainting and build values in an indirect method of oil painting. 

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm

January 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, February 3, and 4, 2026

Instructor: Eric DrummondLocation: Good Foundation Studio (located in the lower, accessible by stairs only)

$360 + materials

*Fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

*TAP Centre for Creativity reserves the right to cancel any course or workshop at any time if the minimum number of students required is not reached. In such cases, fees will be fully refunded.

Day One: Mixing values, preparing the canvas

Students will be shown by the instructor how to correctly mix their value strings and set up a grisaille palette. Students will also begin to apply an “imprimatura” or paint ground to their canvases. This class will also start students with making a small colour sketch that will serve as a reference for the rest of the course.

Day Two: Underpainting

Using only raw umber, students will draw out the structure of the figure as a basis to work upon. Students will focus on gesture, structure and design the basic shadow shape of the figure as well. 

Day Three: First layer (Ebauche)

Students will mix their value strings in accordance with the grisaille palette. Students will be taught the understanding of using the correct amount of oil (minimal) in initial layers, leaving shadows thinner than lights and creating a foundation of paint to work upon. 

Day four: Values

Students will mix their values and focus on applying proper amounts of contrast. Slowly building a background value to aid the eye in achieving a scale of light to dark as well. 

Day Five: Temperature and Blending

Students will be taught techniques for blending and painting planes of the body as well to achieve a greater sense of form. Students will also be shown what temperature variations can be found in a grisaille palette, giving the figure a sense of life and flesh.

Day Six: Modeling light

Students will mix their values once again and be instructed in techniques of modeling forms within the body and giving the figure a sense of “hierarchy of light”. This also in accordance to a flow of light down the body. 

Day 7: Transitions

Students will begin to create transitions by breaking down the larger plains into smaller half tone shapes of transitions. They will learn to do this in accordance with the larger masses of the body being of primary focus, with local forms being secondary.

Day 8: Finishing

Students will learn to glaze and create a glazing medium. Glazing helps with overall finish of the work and enhances the sense of solidity with the bigger masses of the figure. Students will touch up smaller details in the hands and portrait to create a finished figure painting.

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Students will be working from the live nude model to complete one painting over the eight sessions. Material preparation is required for this course so early registration is recommended so students have time to purchase and prepare the wood palette.

These Materials are mandatory:

-Prepared Wooden Palette. Palettes must be prepped AT LEAST a week before with a coat of linseed oil each day, in order for the palette to be cleaned properly after each use. *Bijans

- Painters linseed oil *Bijans

- Oil paint pigments: Raw Umber, Ivory Black, Titanium White (Preferably from Michael Harding or Old Holland) *online

- Flexible Palette knife *Bijans

- Gamsol *Bijans

- Oil cups *Bijans

- 55x95 Roll of Gesso primed canvas *Bijans (or order Claesens 66 primed linen online)

- Roll of Paper towel

- 50x90cm Stretcher Bars

Brushes: 

Brushes must be Oil paint standard. Hog hair brushes by Da Vinci or Tintoretto are excellent. Bijans has Da Vinci Grigio synthetic brushes that are great too

Size 4 Filbert

Size 5 Filbert

Size 6 Bright

Size 5 Bright

Size 5 Sable

Size 6 (Notch and Filbert)

Size 8(Notch and Filbert)

Size 12 Filbert

Size 14 Filbert