If you take only one technical secret away, let it be this: .
[Imprimatura] ──> [Underpainting / Grisaille] ──> [Color Block-In] ──> [Glazing & Scumbling] Step 1: The Imprimatura (The Toned Canvas)
Oil paintings are built in layers. If you apply a fast-drying layer over a slow-drying layer, your painting will crack as it cures.
Most art instruction books follow a familiar, polished, step-by-step format. This book is different. It originated in the late 1970s and early 80s when Linda Cateura, a writer and student of Leffel's at the Art Students League of New York, began taking detailed notes during his classes and critiques.
Applying a thin, transparent layer of dark paint over a completely dry, lighter layer. The light passes through the glaze, reflects off the underlayer, and bounces back to the viewer. This creates a glowing, stained-glass effect impossible to replicate by mixing tubes of paint.
Size and Gesso. You must seal your canvas with PVA size (or rabbit skin glue) followed by several layers of acrylic or oil gesso. This creates a surface that is receptive to paint but protects the canvas fibers.
. Authored by Linda Cateura, the book was born from years of meticulous note-taking during Leffel’s workshop sessions at the Art Students League
Always begin your painting with lean washes (solvent only). Gradually add more oil medium to your paint mixtures with each subsequent layer. Surface Priming and Absorption Control
The vintage editions (1950s-60s) contain step-by-steps by actual commercial illustrators who painted the movie posters of Hollywood’s golden age. These techniques (hard-edge, wet-on-wet blending) are vanishing today. What you learn: Commercial mastery and speed.
But what are these secrets, and can you really find them in a PDF? Let’s break down what the masters know and where you can find these resources today.
A master painting begins long before pigment touches the canvas. Understanding your surface and your chemistry ensures your artwork survives for centuries without cracking, fading, or peeling.
Found on curving surfaces where light gently transitions into shadow. These create the illusion of three-dimensional volume.