September Workshop

Painters' up close and personal.....at the workshop....low key was the focus of thworkshop...painting on the dark side of the palette. This was a great challenge everyone. Rich dark colors are usually watered down to a tint, using more pigment and less water give them importance. Stepping out of the mid value comfort zone pushing borders...everyone accepted the challenge and did great!!

High Key with Mid Values

The paper was dry for washes of carmine, green and orange to be painted around the white buildings, and most of the street. Before the first wash was dry I painted in greens and shadows where they were needed. My plan was to keep the painting in high key (light values) leaving bright whites. It was a challenge to paint the values needed in the beginning as to not disturb them with unnecessary washes over the same area. After the painting was dry darker values where established, calligraphy, and a wash over the foreground street... it seemed to be to light....this is 15x22 using140#Arches cold press paper. Mid values dominate keeping whites and darks connected.....

Mid Value Madness!!!

Step 1 Light Value













Step 2 Mid-Value













Step 3 Dark Value













After a quick sketch... Step 1 is a light wash of orange/purple/green applied to paper that had been sprayed with water. This will be the light value in the painting. Step 2...When paper was dry the mid values were applied mostly in shadow areas....the cars and people where a positive stroke of mid value. Basically reclaiming the drawing.... Step 3...The final darks were established for depth and the use of a rigger brush finished up with calligraphy marks...

Where I Left Off!!

As much as I like to paint first things first came calling.....like being with my 85 year old sister as she went through shoulder replacement. With that said all is well and I am trying to untrack. Although I was unable to paint, reading books from my stock pile brought me back to some basics. Although I understand mid values this review caught my attention concerning the importance these values play in a composition. When lights and darks sit side by side they don't enjoy one another without mid-values. They tend to always be in competition with each other...along comes mid-value and romance begins. Mid-values can be a mixture of the colors being used, which some call mud....actually they are cool or warm grays that unify the painting as a whole. A mid-value painting can be mid value colors these 'middies' are what I refer to as colors that are easily recognized (cobalt/reds/greens). When these bright colors take center stage the neutrals or mid-values they create support their importance. So mid values can be a large portion of neutrals or pure hue...check out some of your paintings for the mid-values.

I quickly sketched a very busy street with the thought in mind to concentrate on mid-values. So this is the sketch and the three steps which entertained me for the afternoon....