Note: With classes not that far off (February in St. Petersburg, Fl), I thought it might be useful to take a look at what I believe to be the most important stage in the painting process and that is the Underpainting stage. It is in this stage that we achieve a sense of atmosphere and harmony.

Several years ago I found a video clip of Monet painting in 1915 and sent the link to an artist-instructor acquaintance, Mitchell Albala. Just a few days ago, I was delighted to find that Mitchell was studying the clip once more and this time he noticed something of interest to me that I had completely missed (http://bit.ly/2hEDKPj). Mitchell focused in on the type of brushes that Monet was using.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the image above, you can see three brushes that Monet is using. My guess is that they are all flat filberts (rounded tip) and are probably No. 2, No. 6, and No. 8.

Regarding the No. 8, Mitchell ponders: “One brush also appears to be unusual — quite pointy with the bristles forming a triangular shape. Perhaps it was a brush he had custom made or it was a regular brush that had worn down.” Yes, I do believe that it was worn, but the No. 6 is worn too. The No. 8 brush was worn in a very distinctive way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the image above, I have tried to duplicate the type of brushes Monet was using by showing you my own. The brush on the right, worn similarly to that of Monet’s, is used for scumbling. The technique is to hold the brush at the feral and in a side-to-side motion, scumble paint onto the canvas using just the side of the brush. Very little paint is used. In fact the brush is almost dry; hence, it is worn down quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scumbling is generally used in the underpainting – literally a full color painting that sits under the next layer where paint is applied stroke by stroke. The underpainting is a layer where one obtains the atmospheric color that bathes everything like “breath on glass.” Thus, the technique allows one to apply paint not in strokes but in patches or veils that overlap. Above is an underpainting by Monet. Notice that he has scumbled into the dark and middle values but has left the light values open or pure canvas. Therefore, he is anticipating using the white of the canvas to vibrate with his lightest lights, using broken color, when he gets to the painting stage – and it appears, in this case, that he has just begun the painting stage given the green loose strokes. Wonderfully complete in every stage, however, as Monet did not continue this painting and left it as is, very much alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above painting (a bridge in London as a train crosses) shows that scumbling may be used with non-white canvases too. This canvas seems to have been tinted a middle value or ochre color because the scene Monet is about to paint is rather greyish, so there is no need to get into bright light colors. Given this approach, Monet will allow that middle value to come through (just as he might let the white of the canvas show through in subjects that were considerably brighter). Consequently, Monet appears to have scumbled into the darks and the lights (all the whitish areas and the smoke rising above the train). In other words, unlike a bright-day painting where he might achieve the sense of light using bright, broken-color, in the lightest areas, he has chosen to get the lights via scumbling which is perfect for the kind of foggy grey that blankets everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the detail above, we can see how Monet achieved this wonderful sense of fog. He paints very little – some yellow strokes over the scumbled lights and just a few strokes in the darks, but almost none at all. Nearly all the lightest lights appear to be scumbled and because scumbling is generally done dry (think scrubbing), scumbled areas easily receive strokes of color over the top.

Finally, something I harp on and that is, notice how layered the painting is. One can see past the yellow strokes and into the scumbled blue-ish-white haze and then continuing through or past the blue-ish-white haze into the ground or surface of the raw canvas. The result is wonderfully airy or foggy even. Monet made a point of saying that whereas most artists paint the thing, he paints the air between him and the thing. He is also teaching us that our approach to various scenes vary, depending on the problems presented and what we wish to achieve or say. If Monet had developed the painting further, I think the magic of it would have been lost.

And as you may have surmised, scumbling wears out your brushes quickly so I always use already-worn brushes with which to scumble. The underpainting may be the key stage in plein-air painting and scumbling, as a technique, is indispensable.