A No Underdrawing approach
June 2025 Painting Letter
Hello, I hope you are doing well.
On my last YouTube video I was talking about why I skip the underdrawing in some of my work. I’d love to talk a little bit more about it in this month’s painting letter. If you haven’t watched my video yet, you can check it out here, and if you’re not subscribed to my channel, now is the perfect time! :)
With time and practice, I realized that it feels right to me to start painting right away. It may have started with practicing with acrylics on my sketchbook and enjoying a more direct approach to painting, something that felt refreshing at the time, and for the first time.
There are some variables that influence this way of working.
First of all, I want to say that I still doing underdrawings when needed, sometimes more, sometime less elaborated, and the underdrawing phase of a painting is definitely necessary in certain cases. It creates depth, it creates stability, and it plays a role in the hierarchy of the painting.
I believe underdrawing can be especially helpful for someone who is just starting to learn how to paint, because it's nice to have a guide, a structure to help with drawing and some shapes to fill in when applying the paint. It helps in learning how to see, how forms work, and how elements behave in space. In my opinion, during the early stages of learning, it can be really important, and jumping straight into painting can feel challenging or intimidating. I’m talking here about representing objects, spaces, and/or people from observation: recognizable forms.
I learned how to paint by starting with underdrawings, followed by the value stage and then the color stage.
But one day, I tried some tiny tubes of acrylics I had bought and used them in my sketchbook, no underdrawing, just direct painting.
This is one of the paintings I did at that time: a color study after the painting Martin Rico’s Paisaje de Suiza (1862). When I finished it back in 2022, I remember thinking to myself: “This acrylics thing is like magic”.
So I started painting more in my sketchbook, often skipping the underdrawing.
This way of painting began with my sketchbook practice, and that’s amazing, because just look at what a sketchbook can do for your painting process. One day, I realized I no longer felt constrained to start a painting with an underdrawing. And that felt great.
It’s important for me to say that, I am not self-taught; I was taught how to paint, and I am still learning. Why do I say this? Because even if I’m not making a physical underdrawing, I am drawing while I paint. The two are intertwined. I’m constantly aware of space, edges, and composition: all at the same time as I apply paint to the surface.
Why do I think painting without an underdrawing can be beneficial for my own painting practice?
In my opinion, it’s really fun to not have to “fill in the spaces” all the time. I just start painting. I can enjoy the process and still make accurate work, and it feels very playful. It also helped me be less strict and reduce the frustration that can come with difficult subjects. There’s room to make mistakes, and also space to be bolder: applying more expressive brushstrokes that, over time, lead to more control and stronger shapes.
Another interesting variable in my practice is that the subject matter and the way I paint are deeply connected.
I do work on larger pieces as well, and those require more time and adjustments to the painting approach. I still love working directly, even on bigger works (even if that means waiting for the paint to dry).
The subject of my painting is focused on what I live and see in my daily life. So, if I’m traveling to the mountains in Spain, I’ll probably end up painting that. The moment is very important to me, so it feels natural to paint in a quick, direct way.
I love solving paintings quickly. That’s why I skip the underdrawing most of the time.
By painting this way, I realized that the time between the observation and the act of painting is reduced. I truly enjoy the Alla prima approach in painting. It meets my needs and matches how I like to paint.
Each tool, like each approach, should ideally meets your own needs as a painter. This profession, this job, requires tools, just like any other. And those tools, those materials, should serve you, not the other way around. So if you like to made looser brushstrokes, you might need to hold your brush farther back. If you don’t enjoy drawing with a regular hard HB pencil, maybe you need a softer one. And so on.
In my opinion, it is important to challenge ourselves and to try going a step further. Paint your loved ones, even if the result doesn’t turn out as expected. Paint that complex scene just because you love it. Later, you’ll see what can be improved and what you’ve learned. Sketchbooks are perfect for that. And if it’s not a precious sketchbook, even better.
I am sharing with you my latest video, where I talk more about this subject and paint the painting shown above.
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If you are interested, you can check out my Patreon page and join either the Studio Tier or the Sketchbook Sessions Tier. In this last one, I go live once a month working on my sketchbook on a quiet livestream session. I go live once a month for a quiet sketchbook livestream session.
This is one of the paintings I created during June’s Sketchbook Session, using gouache — a value study of a landscape.
What a nice thing is to paint landscapes! This subject matter is perfect for a no-underdrawing exercise for me, because the structure is enjoyable to work with. Before I say goodbye, I’d love to share one of my latest YouTube videos for you to enjoy. Painting a landscape with gouache painting.
Thank you so much for taking your time and read this Painting Letter. Share it with someone who may be interested in reading it and see you next time!
Have a nice day,
Elena.