Spring 2019 Watercolor Class

Value Paints the Picture

This is the quick little value study we did in the Wednesday beginning watercolor class but it is good review for all beginning and intermediate students because it might seem simple at first glance but is one of the areas were all students struggle when they start to paint or draw.

Value - or the lightness or darkness of an object or a painting - is the most important aspect of your painting because it gives your painting a third dimensional and/or dramatic look even if you are a more impressionistic painter. Learning to use a full range of values from light to dark will make your painting more exciting and interesting.

Keep the saying in mind: Value paints the picture, color gets all the credit.

To create the shape of an object you must have a light side, a dark side and the middle tones. Start paying more attention to these things in our surroundings you will see what I am talking about.

I start with an apple because it is more interesting than just a plain sphere but you can use any simple object to do this exercise. It is best to find a place to work with one light source like a window or a table lamp (not an overhead light because it will give you "flat" light on your subject). Look at your subject and study it before you paint it. Where is the highlight? where is the darkest shadow? How does the light transition from the light to the dark. Learning to "see" is an important skill to have as an artist.

Since I can do this in my sleep, I don't need to have something in front of me to know if light strikes on one side the shadows are on the lower, opposite side and an apple is pretty simple to draw.

To start my value under painting I used a mix of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to make a gray using a bit more of the blue to keep the color on the cool side. Starting in the darkest area with my gray, I established my shadow Please note where the shadow is on the apple. It is on the lower right side away from the highlight and it does not go all the way up to the top of the apple because that part is in the light. It also goes op a little bit on the left side because the apple is round and the wide part of the apple is blocking the light from the very bottom of the apple. This is why you study the subject first before you start painting.

Once I established the shadow, I quickly rinsed my brush and with a series of tapping and dragging type strokes right along the inside edge of the shadow, I started moving paint put the apple to "grade" the color and soften the edge of the shadow. Each time I had moved a bit up the apple, I would rinse the brush and with a damp brush, go back into the area I just painted, again along the edge, and move paint up the apple until there was very little paint to move. I let this dry then repeated this process several times until I got the apple and its values where I wanted them. The example above is 4 or 5 washes of color and it is better to do several washes (layers) then try to get there in one shot because you will put the paint on too thick and will loose the transparency of the watercolor.

With my values established and my painting completely dry, I add my first wash of color which was a mix of cad yellow with a touch of orange and a lot of water. I went over the entire apple including the shadow areas. 

Try not to go over your apple more than once if you can help it because each time you run your brush over an already painted area you run the risk of stirring up the paint underneath and creating mud on your paper. I will be putting a wash of a similar color on later when the apple is dry, keep reading.

I like gala apples especially to paint. I used reds and oranges to create the stripes on the apple - reds more in the shadows and orange or orange with yellow in the sunnier, warmer areas and the apple was still a little damp from the yellow overall wash I had just put on.

I waited for the apple to dry before giving it a final wash of color. 

Watercolor always dries lighter so it is important to let it dry completely before assessing where you are in a painting. I thought my apple was a bit pale so I used a mix or the yellow and orange and went over the entire apple again to intensify the color of the apple.

This works with everything you do in watercolor. You must work through layers or washes to create values and intense colors but even if it may seem tedious doing layer after layer, by working in layers of washes you keep the transparency of the watercolor which is what most people are looking for when they view a watercolor and you will be happier with your own work as well.

Watercolor is a challenging medium but I think it is also the most rewarding once you understand how it works, so keep painting and I will see you in class.