Conspicuous VALUE in Your Art
VALUE, the last element of design I discussed from my earlier blog "Design in your Art" . This topic is the aim of every artist, of every photographer, of every designer. It seems to be the soul of artwork that sings, and the golden egg for artists that have mastered its secrets. Once the eye can see it, it is like taking blinders off of a racehorse that can now see the finish line.
"Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire." - John Singer Sargent
Easily said by one of our great forefathers, who we all artists strive to stand on his shoulders. Value, Value Value. Over emphasized or under emphasized, how much value do you put into each piece of art? How many times have you heard, "You need to increase your value" or "That is not the right value", or "You really do not know your values"? This is a disturbing comment when you think you have painted a masterpiece. There are terms like High Key, and Low Key, Local Tones or local color...it is quite a feat to learn the terms of art, much more to understand them, and a marathon to master them.
I saved VALUE, another element of design, for the last topic to discuss, based on it's importance, and it's incredibly hard lesson to overcome, and learn. If value is mastered by an artist, then they can finally breath. I am not discrediting the other elements of design, they all need the same attention. But VALUE is something our brain does not recognize, unless it is taught, and practiced over and over and over. I tell my students, "My job is to teach you how to see!"
To do this, I use a vast array of tools. To Begin with the basics of VALUE:
Value is simply the scale of dark to light as it applies to color. Color has a Value, and it falls somewhere on a scale and the best way to see it is to squint your eyes, or use a red transparent plastic paper.
-First, of course is the Value Scale, in white to black, probably everyone is familiar with, and maybe you know what to do with it. There are 5 value scales, 7 value scales, 10 value scales.... This should be used to decide what VALUE your color is.
(we had a storm, so my blog was partially published, here is the rest)
5 value Scale above
How many values should you use? This solely depends on your style of art and since most of us like color, and want to work in color, The 10 value scale, below, helps us to see where a color falls into a value. You can make this up on your own. Or you can use the scale I am attaching to possible print out. Or I can email you this scale large enough to print, so you can test your own paints. I recommend painting in only 5 values to understand value in color.
Color Test Value Scale below
-Second, you need to practice in black in white. This is a simple study I did in black and white broken down into ONLY 5 values.
-Third, Make sure you KNOW the elements of value. This is best seen in the sphere example below. When painting or sketching, push the extremes with this in mind: the light should never be white, and the dark never black. Black and white (as our brain thinks of it) do not happen in nature, not really.But particularly on your canvas, black and white, are dull colors and they should be avoided. But push to the EXTREMES as close to black and white as you can go (I was told once only amateurs use black and white). This means make the darkest areas almost black, and the lightest areas almost white and then work between the two extremes.
Once you understand this value scale, and what happens in black and white, then apply color. Using the color scale below printed out, and dabbing your color in there to find value...then paint it.
Stay tuned for the next discussion about VALUE.
