Grisailles: Starting in greyscale, ending in color

This is your June 2026 newsletter, dropping a little early so you have the weekend to try out this “start in greyscale, end in color” technique. And because the paid members Zoom session is coming up very soon. (More details at the end of this newsletter)GRISAILLES (pronounced grih-zhy, rhymes with sky) is a monochrome painting technique that is most commonly used as underpainting. Oil Painters use it a lot, but it works really well in watercolor and mixed media too. I often lean on this technique in my urban sketches.

Here is a 4-step process of a still life using this technique, adapted from a recent workshop.

STEP 1: Arrange and sketch a grouping of objects in pencil.
STEP 2: Ink in your drawing with waterproof ink.
STEP 3: Paint your still life in grays, considering form, light, and shadow. Also, consider how dark or light an object is. Tip: At this stage, keep the values a little lighter than you want them to end up: color will bump up those values in step 4.
STEP 4: Once dry, apply color over this greyscale image in thin, transparent washes.

Why use this technique? You’ve heard this before and it’s true:
Value does the Work, Color gets the Credit
• If your brain can’t handle thinking in both color and value at the same time, this technique lets you take a one-at-a-time approach: You get to consider form and value before you move on to color. One thing at a time, and the more important stuff first!
• Working in grisailles in watercolor can create a soft, nostalgic feel: one we associate with old hand-tinted photos.

GRISAILLES AND URBAN SKETCHING
Sometimes, I use this approach in my urban sketches. Starting in monochrome lets me work simply and quickly before getting to color.

In this sketch of a cement mixer at a construction site, the monochrome sketch (in black pencil and and ink ) did all the heavy lifting, and the watercolor layer I glazed on at the end added that splash of orange color that cues “construction site”.

In the sketch of a vegetable vendor below, diluted black ink and white pencil on tinted paper creates the first pass and colored pencil adds some color.

I sometimes use this technique to create focus. Below, the figure is lightly glazed in watercolor while his surroundings stay untouched by color.

Starting this landscape in monochrome let me focus on the dappled light on the trees without considering their color, which I only hinted at later.

If you try this technique, let me know how it worked for you!

Dates: Multiple dates, Jan 2027

This link has all the details you need. Don’t wait too long to sign up, last spots left!
Gateway to India Workshop(s), 2027

Dates: Sunday, 21-28 May 2027
Use the code EARLYBIRD at checkout to save $150 on the workshop!

Join me in partnership with French Escapade in Spain, in May 2027, for this week-long workshop. You are promised a wonderful organizing team, spectacular locations and food, the camaraderie of like-minded artists, and a week filled with learning to sketch and paint places and people in vibrant color!

Read a detailed itinerary and sign up here:
https://frenchescapade.com/2027-calendar/spain-suhita-shirodkar/

Our next online sketching session for the paid subscribers group is on Friday June 5th and we will sketch people in cafes. Included in the session are photo references, a pdf of paintings and sketches of the subject to inspire you, as well as my thoughts and approaches to drawing at cafes.

Join us by upgrading your membership at the link below. (You can join live or will receive a recorded video of the session.)