A Quick Study on Values...

Yes, I am still studying color.  I am pretty sure this will be a long time thing and I am more than prepared for it. This past week, I started a mini study on values.  This was brought to the for front through an ongoing class I am taking through Experience True Colors.  They were focusing on values through the use of black and white.  I just went a few steps further by adding colors to my black & white.

I started my first day using strictly Carbon Black and Titanium White paint. I mixed in together to create my value scale.  When I was happy with my mixing, I used the mixed colors to create a piece in my color journal.  As you know, I am really intrigued by abstract art, so thought I would try using this format for the entire week.  In order to have some sort of unity, I decided to create a modified template/stencil.  I free hand cut them out of a 9x12" sheet of Bristol paper.

Hard to see the values in the black in the photo, but the main focus is that there are good values on the entire spread.  I added the black singular line to connect the two solid shapes using a Charcoal pencil.  Quite happy with the results.

Day two brought me mixing with three primaries (Primary Cyan/Magenta/Yellow) to get black and then of course the addition of white to get my value scale.

I made sure to take a photo of the two value scales side by side so you can see just how close I got them.

The scale on the left is using only black and white paints and the the scale on the right is using the three primaries along with white. I was really impressed on how well I did.

Not wanting to waste the mixed paint, of course I added to my color journal once again using my template again but in a different layout.

I once again used my charcoal pencil to unite the two separate images. I just wish I was talented enough to get the black to show its' variation better in photos.

Day three I decided to try using a version of primaries....individually to create a value scale. So for this version, I used Hansa Yellow Medium and created my values using the addition of carbon black and titanium white. I love the fact that when yellow and black are mixed you get green! Not sure I totally understand why yet, maybe due to color bias? Warm vs cold?  You can be rest assured I am looking into why!

Not much else to say about this one, but I really love it!  

Day four brought red into the family. Pyrrole Red.  Everything the same as the day before, just a little different presentation.

I seriously love the red and black mixed to create value.  It is quite the dance to get it balanced. I'd say it was a great success.

The final day was all about blue. Phthalo Blue (Green Shade). This again was an interesting dance with the white & black.  I worked them a bit differently this day and it was a real struggle. I struggled with my brushes so often would blend and mix with my fingers.  Needless to say, by the end of it I had some pretty Smurf like hands!

Here they are all shown together in a collage pic.  It was a fun mini study and I know I still want to delve deeper into it using warm vs cool in the magenta/cyan/yellow families.

You can learn a lot about the values in your piece my taking a photo of it with your phone.  Simply by editing the photo to b&w, you can see right away how effective your values (contrasts) are. Even without editing to b&w, you can often see where your mistakes are. It really is a powerful tool to keep close by.

Aside from learning a lot about colors and how they react to others, 

I have discovered:

* I prefer a dry brush 

* I often use 12 or more brushes in a sitting

* I like using my fingers to apply the paints

 * I like using Glazing Medium to blend

*the more I paint, the more I want to learn about color.