Class Notes: VALUE in Color

In Class we have been studying Value, making Grayscales - hoping some of it sinks in. . .
Making sense of the value scale is part of training our eyes to discern value changes, - the more we do it, the more sensitive and accurate our value choices will be.  - but WHY?
Because VALUE is how we show form and create the illusion of 3 dimensions, on a flat canvas.
Does your work have depth, or show the light effects that you desire? We avidly study COLOR, but VALUE is what gives COLOR it's power - with out it, color makes little sense.
So - this week we started with a color photo of a cup and saucer and created a few 3-value plans - to which we applied this criteria:
The value plan must show the light & shadow effect.
It must help me to communicate what I want to say about the photo?
The value plan must communicate the 3D structure of the image in the photo?
To keep it simple we started with Black as #7 and laid in the darkest areas, then mixed a mid range gray (matching it to #4 on the Grayscale) and applied it to all of the middle value areas. Finally we left the white of the canvas as #1 our lightest value.
Of the 3 above - each value plan is a little different.
We used the photo for reference, but have made different design choices as to where certain lights and darks will be placed.
So much for the easy part. . .

I chose value plan two as my favorite, each class painter also chose one and we began to lay color on top of the value areas, trying to use colors that fit into that specific value range by matching them to our Grayscale.  It is all about comparing,  squinting, and matching; and there were a lot of A-Ha moments.
In the case above - I have tried to work many colors into each of the three values, but the true test is when we look at a tonal interpretation to see if they all hang together as one value.  See below.
At first I did not trust my own eyes as I squinted to match colors to values.
Several people pulled out their "i-phones" for this part; most new phones have a photo app of some kind that works well. Beware however,  we found some major anomalies between  phones, and between phones and cameras.
Your trained EYE can still be the best judge of visual information - so grab that grayscale -
you are now free to start squinting at the world.

Class Notes: Value and the Grayscale - why?

2016 Painting classes started last week and there is something about the newness of January that seems to add fresh inspiration to my outlook.  Ironically, it would seem like we are tackling an old subject in Class but when it comes to painting there is always MORE to be learned.

In my classes we have studied VALUE in the 2-value NOTAN, the 3 and 4 value sketch, laying in value in an under painting, we have addressed color as value, value in neutrals, values on a black ground, or white ground,  values in the landscape, in still life, in direct light like sunshine and in shade. Are we bored yet - or just tired?
This is a subject that we address at almost EVERY class meeting; it is always with us- ho hum.
There IS more to be learned,
but, is there a new way to look at it?  Stay with me. . . .

This week we did something we have never done in my class - we made grayscales;  mine is at the top.   Not earthshaking you say?  Too true.

But as one of my students revealed - she made a grayscale in another class but never really did anything with it.  Hmm. . . . .  So WHAT is it for - or how can I make it "work" for me?
I have discounted the grayscale as an artist's “toy”, something a teacher would tell you to buy but you'd just carry it around.  Maybe hoping it will help with - something.
I have one - never used it.
In high school, I also used to imagine that if I slept with my German book under my pillow some learning would leak into my brain. 
yeah. . . . .

I do have to say, in my own work, I have had trouble using certain colors with success and I know the problem is a VALUE problem - not strictly a color problem - so, I am going back to the grayscale to examine closely the colors I have struggled with.
Color in VALUE is one of the most difficult hurdles facing painters, and especially troubling for students. I try to hit it in class from every possible direction.
The Grayscale is not a cure all; only a tool, but in the weeks to come we will be learning to use it to address those "gray" areas of color and value in our work. In the end, if we find the grayscale worthless - well, we can throw it out and not feel guilty.
Somehow, I doubt we will do that. Stay tuned.

Class Notes: Making a Grayscale

The GRAYSCALE contains only shades of gray - no color.
Not magic, it is only a tool, but a good one to use to judge, and compare every paint mix we make, to see where it fits in the gray range.

You can do a strong 3 value sketch but not have a clue about what colors to plug into those gray shades. That is where the grayscale will help.
Let's start by making one.

I drew 7 boxes for a 7 value scale because it is pretty simple and also has a MID-point. I placed white paint in box #1 and black in box #7.
The first time, I mixed, what I perceived to be a "centrist" or middle gray for the #4 box and mixed values up and down.
The second time, I started with white and added a little black to the mix as I worked up the scale to all black.
This is something that you get better at the more that you do it; so don't stop at just one.
Do several, set them aside and judge them later as to which seem to get the best gradation of even values up the scale.

Next we will look at just WHERE our colors fit in this scale.
A hah! More fun to come.

Class Notes: The Value of a 2-VALUE Sketch

My favorite type of sketch is the 2 value sketch, or 2 value notan; here at the top.
I use a bold sharpie-marker to lay in the dark values of the sketch and leave the white of the paper for everything else. I skipped the mid-tones, so for every shape I must decide to push it to black or the other direction, to white. The 2 value sketch may take some practice but the design potential is huge. Suddenly, you will begin to see patterns and shapes form that you may not have been able to see in a 3 or 4 value sketch.
Compare the top sketch to the more conventional 3 value sketch below it. Both explain the light and tell the story but present very different pictures.
SideBar: I use the 2 value sketch in my own work because of the graphic quality it brings to the paintings.
In both sketches, I am very conscious of connecting the darks so that the viewer's eye can move across the composition with out a break. The final result was this little painting I did as a class demo.













The practice of translating what you see into small value sketches will help develop your artist's eye for VALUE.
What ever kind of sketch you choose to do, it will set you up to know where you are headed in the painting;
You master the work instead of letting it master you.
And we all know what that feels like - when a scene has just kicked your butt. . .
Go back and attack it with a value sketch.

Next time: TIPS on creating better value sketches.

Class Notes: The Value of a VALUE Sketch

In our ongoing discussion about VALUE. . .
I can't over state the importance of a sketch as a way to see
and FIGURE OUT value.
Creating small sketches is a good way to begin to develop your eye for value, BUT a conventional sketch like the one here on the right does NOT tell us either where the light is coming from or how it affects the objects it touches?


In the second sketch, I started a little differently.
You can see where I drew a light outline of the objects first, then used the pencil to tone, or fill in the shapes with a medium value grey - over all - leaving the white of the paper for the lightest shapes. It is a pretty simple process and if you cover areas that you want white,
just use an eraser to lift them.
At this point the sketch is very
2 dimensional and flat looking.










In this last step of the sketch,
I used the pencil to lay in the darkest darks over the medium value and voila - I have a quick 3 value sketch that shows where the light is coming from and suddenly my objects have dimension.
Not too painful right?

Remember: Understanding VALUE means knowing how to explain the LIGHT. The bottom sketch communicates where the light is coming from and what it does when it hits the objects.
More about seeing Values in Sketches, and some tips - later.

Class Notes: The Value of VALUE cont.

The discussion about VALUE, in class, is an ongoing one? We hit it from every angle and it applies to almost everything we talk about because it is THAT important.
However, when students are juggling drawing, color mixing, etc., and I bring up VALUE people's eyes glaze over.
Ok - so it's important, yada, yada, yada. I won't go into a long discussion as to why- if you are at that point as a beginning painter, and you don't know the WHY-just go with me on this one. Drawing, color mixing, composition, all come in second to the importance of values in creating a successful painting.
So where do you start to see and understand it?
First- a disclaimer to my students: this is not a plot to try to sell you on the sketch idea BUT. . . .
The BEST way to begin is to start sketching. Sketch anything; do a quick sketch of your spoon on a napkin, sketch while on the phone, doodle in meetings. It goes with out saying that doing a sketch of what you want to paint is important, so in the next few posts I will show a couple of ways to develop your eye for value by using small sketches.
The photos here show a small still life posted earlier (see Dec 18 post on VALUE) and my original sketch for the same.
Not bad - it covers the basics but communicates almost nothing about the VALUEs (the light in the setup).
What is the light doing?
Where is it coming from?
How does it affect the objects it touches? Are the objects even 3 dimensional?
But it's a start.

Remember: Understanding VALUE in painting means knowing how to explain the LIGHT.
More about seeing Values in Sketches later.

Class Notes: The Value of VALUE

What does it mean when we talk about VALUE?
Simply stated - VALUEs are the lights and darks in a painting, photo, etc.
Understanding VALUE in painting means knowing how to explain the LIGHT. What is it doing? Where is it coming from? How does it affect the objects it touches? It is also through VALUE that we make objects look 3 dimensional.
In class we have been painting quick, small set ups, on white, in order to get a sense for values in a still life.
One approach is to recognize the darkest part of the still life.
Is it a dark colored object or a cast shadow? Conversely, what is the lightest part? That could be where an object is getting the full blast of the light or just a very light part of the set up.
Either way, once those are clearly identified you can work your "values" in between the darkest dark and the lightest light, always comparing one value against another.
In both cases above I have used this method without trying to create any specific value "plan" - except to try to CONNECT the darks. By connecting the dark values, I try to lead the viewer's eye through the painting.
More about VALUEs later.
The countdown to Christmas is on. Here's wishing you a week of festive anticipation and the energy to enjoy it.

Class Notes: What's the Value ?

The last 8 weeks in class our ongoing discussion has been about Value; the dark, the light, and how to understand value and communicate value in your work. In the painting to the right, black acrylic and only the white of the canvas were used to communicate the subject. Color is not needed to explain the metal can, the white cup or the dark red apple. Relative values explain the forms but also reveal to the viewer what is happening with the light on those forms. Value, more than color is key to a successful painting.

Class Notes: Explaining with Value?

We are talking about VALUE but what that really means is: Explaining the LIGHT!
These sketches of a simple set-up, all explain the light - in 4 different ways. We used only 2 values for each item: light & dark. In sketch #1, top left, the light parts of each object are under painted with acrylic orange and the dark values are under painted with acrylic black.
To the right in sketch #2, the entire space was under painted in acrylic black and the shapes are defined in only light and dark. This version has the most drama and a very graphic look.
Sketch #3 has a traditional, oil/thinner, wash under painting, warm under the light areas and cool in the darks areas. The Cerulean blue in the foreground is too intense but does communicate light on a dark background - which will almost always be darker than the dark areas of a white object, such as the cup.
Sketch #4 is painted in the "direct" method; no under painting. All 4 sketches break up the values in a way that clearly explains what the objects are and how they are effected by the light.

Class Notes: Stay Away From That White!

I tend to be somewhat tyrannical about using white paint in class so two weeks of set ups with white items- almost unheard of.
White paint cools all your colors, as well as lowers their intensity. Most beginners get very nervous about color that is too intense or values that are too strong. I think it is the "too, too" thing. Take away the white and one is forced to moderate values from the palette of colors. Which, by the way, encourages better color mixing.
The challenge in "tea set" above, was to make them look white while working on a violet, wash under painting. We started with a white canvas, which is my least favorite way to work. I much prefer a canvas with several old paintings underneath; that way I don't have to work as hard to get depth in my values.