Value Chart - Planes

Value Chart - Neutrals

Closer

I thought it would be helpful to create four versions of the same scene in different neutral/limited palettes. I started this yesterday, and am going to try to complete it by Monday using different "base" colors. In this one I used the same values used in class on Wednesday, using cad yellow and the black mixture, and lightening with white. It's helpful for me to have these permanently on a board, to reference in the future. Laurel is always advocating making value charts like this, so I'm pretty sure she'll be happy with me here. :)

-julie davis

The Substitute

The Substitute, 6 x 8

sold

Today we began Laurel Daniel's plein air class for this semester--except that it rained all day, so today we painted inside and studied value planes. Interestingly enough, it was an invaluable lesson! She took us slowly through the development of a landscape, concentrating on making sure we were accurately recording the values in the four planes of a landscape (sky, ground, slant, verticals). Laurel gave us each a copy of this photo from which to work--"The Substitute" fits because we painted from a photo, instead of outside. (It's late, clever is not easy). : )

-julie davis

Outnumbered

Outnumbered, 8 x 10

I'm looking forward to painting and posting again in earnest. We had a tragedy in the neighborhood last weekend, and painting could not be a priority.

This afternoon I thought I'd work at what Laurel was asking us to do in class--studying value shifts in local color. I wasn't after creative color or composition, or accuracy of detail, and admittedly, the tennis and golf ball subject matter was not the biggest challenge I could've set out for myself. However, conveying a sphere in paint is fun for me, and that's what I needed today--straightforward and just happy. So I pulled out some of my daughter's practice golf balls and an old, flat tennis ball, and set them out on my table. I did enjoy this one, and got some practice seeing the value shifts in different variations of white. Since the golf balls were old, some were more yellow, while some leaned blue or gray. It felt great to push some paint around again, and I learned a good bit in the process.

-julie davis

Values Exercise

Values Exercise, 12 x 12

Greatest day--yesterday we started Laurel Daniel's class again--four short weeks, but I love learning, and learning about painting is such a kick for me-even when it's studying value. This is actually the third I did in class yesterday--the first dealt with local color with a light, medium, and dark object. The second was painted with a range of 7-8 grays from black to white, and the third we were allowed to use color, attempting to keep the same accuracy in value shifts. This doesn't look too colorful, but the objects were quite neutral, and I didn't go crazy with the background color. I like the neutrals, even though the subject matter isn't glamorous. I suppose it helps the form stand out more.

-julie davis