underpainting

English

Etymology 1

under- +‎ painting

Noun

underpainting (countable and uncountable, plural underpaintings)

1. (art) An initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers.
   • 2007 May 13, Carol Kino, “Something There Is That Loves a Wall”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     He would start with a stenciled acrylic underpainting and finish by making marks with the chalk and charcoal shells.

2. (art) A painting that the artist later painted over to create the final work.
   • 2012, Leo Katz, Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law‎^[2]:

     At first they wouldn't believe him, but he gave them proof. X-ray the Adulteress, he told them, and you will find an underpainting. They did and found the underpainting van Meegeren had described.

Etymology 2

underpaint +‎ -ing

Verb

underpainting

1. present participle and gerund of underpaint