30 in 30

Value #1
8" x 8"
(watercolor on paper)

Well . . . it's that time of year again:  Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge."  I won't be painting 30 paintings . . . probably not even close . . . but I'm planning on consistently working on my use of value through a couple series of different subjects.  So here's my first study.

Figuring Stuff Out

paper loops - graphite - work in progress

Not much to report here . . . just been working on some value studies.  Have a good night and thank you for taking a peek.  :)

paper loops - watercolor on aquabord
6" x 6"

Blue Pitcher

"Blue Pitcher"
6" x 6"
watercolor on aquabord

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I began my day with some value sketching in the morning and decided to finish up this pitcher painting that I had started last year, in the afternoon.  I have a little pile of 6"x 6" aquabord paintings that need finishing.  1 down and bunch more to go.  :)

Thank you for stopping by . . . have a lovely day.

 (what this painting could look like when framed)

morning sketch in progress

Still Sketching

graphite drawing

Just thought I'd share that in between paintings and commissions, I'm still sketching and working out some "things."  :)

graphite drawing

watercolor sketch with white acrylic and sepia ink

more graphite drawings

Being Bold

"American Interior"
6" x 6"

One of the most difficult things for me when painting, is getting the values right.  While I was working on this painting today, I just couldn't seem to get the glow on the window's mullions, nor was I achieving the overall drama that I wanted. So I took a photo of my painting, desaturated it in Photoshop (turning it into a black and white image) then compared it to a black and white image of the real photo. Wow! I was sooo off. It's hard to remember sometimes, that in order to create "popping" whites, you have to have the dark contrasts. Because I have a tendency to overwork my paintings, I'm often gun-shy when it comes to pushing the values and achieving those darkest darks. But as long as I remember to use a full range of values, creating the contrast I need, I'll be able to obtain those glowing whites.  And the black and white image "trick" is VERY helpful as I have a very difficult time seeing the value in color. I still have some work to do before I can call this painting done, but I feel much better that I'm headed in the right direction.

Below you'll see my before and after value images, along with the original photo. Happy painting!

(the "before" value image --  notice that the wall
and the outside values are all wrong)

the actual photo's value image

(the "after" value image -- this is from the color
painting image at the beginning of this post)