Solomon J. Solomon taught a systematic, layered method for oil painting, set out in his 1910 book, The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing. A Royal Academy teacher, his process began not with colour but with drawing and tone. Students first mastered drawing from plaster casts, learning to see the form through the masses and through negative space. The next step was a monochrome underpainting, or grisaille, using only Raw Umber and white to fix the whole light-and-shadow structure. Only once that underpainting was dry would colour go on, in thin transparent glazes. Solomon openly disapproved of "blocking in" as it was commonly practised, preferring his more integrated approach to massing. This indirect method, shaped by his French training and his study of the old masters, put solid construction and tonal accuracy ahead of direct, alla prima painting.
Had students see and draw the main masses of light and shade, and use the shape of the background to define the object's form.
Why it matters · Instead of tracing an outline, this makes you see the object against its surroundings and as a three-dimensional form defined by light. Reading the negative shapes is a powerful way to catch and correct a drawing error.
Had students move from drawing to a monochrome painting, a grisaille, using only Raw Umber and white to model the form completely.
Why it matters · This separates the problem of form and value from the problem of colour. Solving light and shadow first builds a solid structural foundation, so the finished, coloured painting has convincing depth.
Once the monochrome underpainting was dry, laid colour over it in thin transparent glazes and semi-transparent scumbles.
Why it matters · This is the classic indirect method. It gives luminous, deep colour bound to the form beneath: the light passes through the glaze, bounces off the lighter underpainting, and glows back to the eye.
Openly disapproved of the common "blocking in," which he saw as a crude way of outlining the figure before filling it.
Why it matters · This is a key nuance. He was not against massing, he was against a thoughtless, mechanical version of it. Seeing the masses and negative shapes together was a more whole way to find the form, without the stiffness of a draw-by-numbers block-in.
Gave a large part of his book to analysing old-master paintings and pressed copying their work as a core part of training.
Why it matters · Copying was the time-honoured academic way to learn composition, technique, and colour harmony straight from the best historical examples. It was how you absorbed the principles of great art before trying to add to them.
Begin with a charcoal drawing, often from a plaster cast, working the large shapes of light and shadow and using the background to help define the form.
Why: To set a foundation of accurate drawing and a grasp of three-dimensional form before any paint goes down.
With only Raw Umber and Flake White, paint the whole subject, modelling its form and the play of light across its surfaces.
Why: This grisaille stage solves the problems of drawing, form, and tonal value, building a robust structure for the colour to come.
Set the canvas aside until the monochrome layer is thoroughly dry to the touch.
Why: Essential to the indirect method. Wet colour glazes over a wet underpainting make mud; the layers have to stay separate.
Mix transparent colours with a medium and lay them over the dry grisaille in thin films, letting the light and dark of the underpainting show through.
Why: This builds rich, luminous colour. The form is already there in the underpainting; the glazes tint it, fusing form and colour in a way direct painting struggles to reach.
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“Let me say at once that I thoroughly disapprove of what is understood by the blocking in of the whole figure or object that is commonly practiced.”
An indirect, layered method. It starts from a correct drawing, then a complete monochrome underpainting (grisaille) to fix form and value. Once that is dry, colour goes on in thin, transparent glazes.
A complete painting of the subject in a single colour, usually shades of grey or brown. Solomon recommended Raw Umber and Flake White. The stage solves all the problems of drawing and value before colour comes in.
No. He wrote in his 1910 book that he "thoroughly disapprove[d] of what is understood by the blocking in." He taught a more whole way of finding the form, through the masses of light and shadow and the negative shapes.
His influential teaching manual, The Practice of Oil Painting and of Drawing as Associated with it, first published in 1910. It lays out his systematic, step-by-step method for students.
For the crucial monochrome underpainting he recommended a simple palette of Flake White and Raw Umber. For glazing he used transparent pigments like Rose Madder and Ivory Black. He advised painting on a white canvas, not a toned one.
A prominent British painter (1860 to 1927), a Royal Academician, a founding member of the New English Art Club, and a dedicated teacher at the Royal Academy Schools in London. His 1910 book codified his influential teaching method.
You believe in a system. You want to solve one problem at a time: first drawing, then value, then colour. You build a painting layer by layer from a solid monochrome foundation, because you know that beautiful colour on a weak structure is a failure.
Borrow this: Draw your subject by seeing the big masses of light and the shapes of the background around it. Then, on your canvas, paint the whole scene in monochrome with only Raw Umber and white. Once it is dry, glaze thin layers of colour over the top. The form is finished before the colour ever begins.
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