underpaintings

Noun

underpainting (countable and uncountable, plural underpaintings)

1. An initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers.
   • He would start with a stenciled acrylic underpainting and finish by making marks with the chalk and charcoal shells.2007 May 13, Carol Kino, “Something There Is That Loves a Wall”, in New York Times
2. A painting that the artist later painted over to create the final work.
   • 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.2012, Leo Katz, Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law