Values in Painting

Finger Lakes Farm  - 12x18  pastel  SOLD

Yesterday I presented a workshop for the Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters, a very dedicated bunch of painters who have a love of painting outdoors like I do.  The theme of the workshop was how to use value to improve one's paintings.  Value is the range of dark (black) to light (white) and everything in between.

I am very in-tune to value in my own work and feel that once the correct values are established, the rest of the painting comes together more easily.

For this demonstration, I had to work inside from a photo due to the possibility of rain.  I worked over an old unsuccessful painting which had virtually no value range.  It's no wonder it was unsuccessful.

I drew in the basic shapes with a pencil.  Then using 5 values, blocked in the painting with pastel - black for the trees, dark gray for the grassy fields and barns, medium gray for the driveway, lighter gray for the sky and white for the roof of the barn and silos.  That's it.

Next was color.  I went right over the value sketch with color in the same values as in the value layer.  I used a variety of colors in each value.  This can be done only because each of those colors are of the same value as the grays, black and white which I initially used.  If I put down a color which was not in the correct value, it was was glaringly obvious, making it easy to correct at that point.

I gave everyone a value-finder which I made to help them to see value without the distraction of color.  Then they were given the chance to do value sketches and at least one finished painting before ending the workshop with a critique and ice-cold drinks provided by GVPAP.  I really enjoyed myself and was very pleased by the results of the workshop.  Everyone's paintings had a beautiful range of value that seemed to show a better understanding of how of value can make for a better painting.    SOLD