Demonstration on Using Sgraffito With Oil Paints

Step-by-Step on Painting a Still Life Setting Using Oil Colour

Jul 16, 2009 Rachel Wills

This demonstration on oil painting a still life with a garden shed with tools compliments a technique known as sgraffito, which involves scoring the paint.

Oil paints are so versatile, there are many different applications available. Sgraffito is a technique whereby the upper layer of the paint is scratched off, revealing a different colour beneath. Sgraffito is also used as decoration by scratching onto plaster in order to reveal a different ground. In this demonstration, sgraffito is quite easy and effective.

The Artists’s Materials

A suitable setting of a rustic still life, or a photograph
Acrylic paint in burnt sienna
Oil paints in the following colours: titanium, pthalo blue, ultramarine, permanent rose, burnt sienna and burnt umber
A 12” x 16” (30.5 x 40.5cm) piece of primed MDF
A size 3 and size 6 round sable brushes
A pointed implement for the sgraffito technique
A ½ inch wide bristle brush
A palette consisting of a china plate or varnished wood.
Small pot of artists’ white spirits
A few rags
Soft pencil

Completing a Still Life Painting

Setting up a still life takes some time and care. Ensuring it is balanced is essential before making a sketch or taking a photograph. Once this was complete, the sketch was transferred onto the painting surface. To kill the off-putting white, a thin wash of acrylic paint in burnt sienna had been applied and allowed to dry. The drawing was sketched in soft pencil, taking care to make the lines accurate. The drawing was then overlaid with neat acrylic paint applied with a fine sable.

Since this painting had been completed from life in the garden and the shadows were shifting, the shadows were painted in first. A mixture of pthalo blue, ultramarine and permanent rose was used (fig 1)

For the stepladder, pthalo blue, lemon yellow and varying amounts of white were sketched in. The watering can required added amounts of lemon yellow. A bristle brush was used to etch in the neutrals, which contrasted sharply with the greens.

How to do Sgraffito

For the shed door and panels in the background, varying amounts of burnt sienna, burnt umber, permanent rose and white were used. The paint was pasted on with the bristle brush, so making the ensuing sgraffito stand out.

With the but-end of the brush (although any sharp implement will do, from a comb to a braddle) scratch marks were etched into the paint in order to emulate the feel of the wood. The lines followed the grain of the wood, adding an element of texture to the earth colours (fig 2 and fig 3)

Oil Sketching the Background

Once the scratching had been completed, definition was added to the shadows by dabbing burnt umber between the planks on the shed and around the tools. Burnt sienna and white was used for the floor. This pulled the painting together (fig 4)

What is Sgraffito

Sgraffito adds an extra dimension to oil painting by creating texture and revealing the colour beneath. Any sharp implement can be used from an old pencil, the but-end of a brush to an old comb. In this demonstration, the sgraffito had used to bring out the texture of the grain in the wooden shed. However, other techniques, such as using palette knives with impasto medium will give the painting texture.

The copyright of the article Demonstration on Using Sgraffito With Oil Paints in Painting/Drawing is owned by Rachel Wills. Permission to republish Demonstration on Using Sgraffito With Oil Paints in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Painting of Garden Shed With Tools	Oil Sketching the Shadows (fig 1)	Etching the Sgraffito in the Grain (fig 2)
Scratching the Oil Paint (fig 3)	Adding Definition to the Shadows (fig 4)