Sir Thomas More

Reproduction of the painting by Hans Holbein in 1527.

Here you can see my process for building a painting that will last for centuries. I begin with a hardboard coated with bonded marble gesso at 16x20 inches. I did a complete charcoal rendering of the form on the board establishing the values and proportions. I then covered the charcoal with an underpainting in Verdacchio. Verdaccio is a centuries old underpainting technique used primarily by the Florentine school of painting. Verdaccio means "Greenish-First" and the tones are laid down in a gray-green. When the Verdaccio is complete, I begin the color stage by laying in thin glazes of oil color allowing the underpainting to show through to define the detail. Next, I will lay in the flesh tones and the jewelry necklace.