The following demonstration of a cityscape in acrylic by Jo Quigley, shows how a grisaille (greyscale monochrome) can be used as a stepping-stone to a finished work.

Demonstration: Towards St Paul's

Stage one

The first step is to establish a greyscale, although it is possible to use up to nine values, I have chosen to restrict myself to just five.

For this painting I used a combination of Mars black and titanium white to complete the grisaille stage.


Stage two

I prefer to tint my canvas first using a mid-tone, to which I then add lighter and darker values.

Unlike an oil painting where the paint is usually applied thinly during the early stages, I applied two coats of relatively thick paint to achieve a good even coverage.

A darker value was then applied to the lower third, creating an area for land and water.


Stage three

Having previously decided on my composition, I preferred not to draw out first, as I find this approach fairly restrictive. Instead I worked loosely in a series of shapes, starting with the largest areas, which when placed correctly can be subdivided into smaller shapes.

After adding a few darker values, the three-dimensional forms of the buildings began to take shape.


Stage four

Having established the main areas of tone relatively quickly, I added the lightest value and a few architectural details to describe the buildings further.

Concentrating the marks and sharpening edges in the foreground further enhanced a feeling of depth.

My primary reason for using this method was to speed up the process, so I decided to move on to adding colour rather than take the grisaille to completion.

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Stage five

Using cool colours including cobalt blue, brilliant blue and raw umber, I covered some of the mid-tone areas including the sky.

At this stage you could choose to use an acrylic glazing medium, but if you apply just one or two layers of colour mixed in the usual way, the tone from beneath remains.

Rather than complete any one area, I applied colours randomly across the canvas to help create a more harmonious image.


Stage six

I added some warm colours including burnt sienna, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and parchment, repeating the process used in the previous stage.

By selecting transparent pigments or using a glazing medium to thin paint, colour can be added to the darkest areas at this stage.


Stage seven

With most of the visual elements in place I allowed myself to get involved in some of the details, confident that they wouldn’t detract from the overall composition or form.


Finished painting

Towards St Paul’s, acrylic, (80x80cm)

I re-established some of the lightest values and added a few extra details in the form of trees, cranes and some figures to complete the painting.


Jo Quigley studied at Winchester School of Art and Kingston University, and taught painting before turning professional. Jo demonstrates to art societies across the south east of England – for more details see www.quigleyarts.co.uk


This demonstration is taken from Jo's feature in the May 2018 issue of The Artist. Enjoy endless inspiration with access to past and present issues of both The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines, plus exclusive video demos, tutorials and more, with our Studio Membership! Discover how you can join today.


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