How Shishkin Used Preliminary Drawings

Ivan Shishkin, a renowned Russian landscape painter, used preliminary drawings to develop his studio compositions. He typically established a grid for enlarging the drawing to the final canvas, and he used ink to clarify the outlines of the trees in his preliminary drawings.

Mast Tree Grove (Drawing) by Ivan Shishkin

Once the preliminary drawing was finished, he would proceed to do a tonal underpainting in monochrome before painting in full color.

"Before starting the painting, you have to do a sketch to clarify the idea and plan what you're going to be doing on a big canvas." Sometimes he would also do a color study to work out the plan for the painting.

Shishkin continues: "It's also important to do a preliminary drawing [on the canvas] with charcoal. Put a layer of charcoal on a clean canvas and wipe it with a dry tissue. You'll have a smooth base tone, and you can draw over that with more charcoal. You can erase off halftones and lights using an eraser made from a chunk of black bread. If you do that you will get the effect of lighting you need, and then you're ready to continue with the final painting."