Leonardo’s Unique Painting Technique When he painted, Leonardo applied layers of color on top of each other creating rich color, texture, and 3D effect. Leonardo used a painting technique called sfumato, translating to smoke, in which there weren’t any lines showing shade or light. The Mona Lisa’s smile was made of millions of dots, which is the way sfumato is created. Though sfumato was used before Leonardo, he used more and in a much more extensive manner than anyone else had. “Light and shade should blend without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke." -Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo mixed his colors on the painting, unlike other painters,who did it on a palette. Leonardo rarely used a brush in his later years, instead he used his thumb.
From hickletoncollectors.co.uk