Study of a cast in oil on canvas. The cast is of a “Marseille Warrior” from the Arc de Triomphe in France. I used an opaque grisaille technique. The pigments I used were lead white and raw umber, and I added calcium carbonate chalk to the lead white. The initial drawing was loose, and I gradually and slowly added smaller shapes on top of the rough base. I was using observation to a great extent to determine the shapes rather than construction, and in retrospect this may explain why it felt like the painting was progressing so slowly. However, I am convinced that Rembrandt likely used opaque grisailles in his paintings, and it is said that Rembrandt also painted quite slowly at times, so maybe I shouldn’t be disconcerted that this painting took a while.
Charlie Antolin Artist 