This week's BobBlast covers three topics that are often misunderstood, sometimes forgotten and can be just plain bothersome! And they are one of the basics of art school...
VALUE - CONTRAST - LIGHT SOURCE
Why are these principles important to know when creating a painting? Value can establish the mood of the painting. Soft, gentle low-value tones can be romantic or quiet. On the other hand,
bright contrasting values can be dramatic, eye-popping or even harsh.
Most artists are aware of the value scale - when I was in art school, one of the assignments was to make a value scale chart from ten to zero of all twelve colors from the standard color wheel. It took a week - but boy, did I learn the lesson about value!
Hint: Color right out of the paint tube is the darkest that color will ever be. On the value scale that is a #10. The color, when lighter reads from #10 to zero.
My demo is in black and white - It is the easiest example to use because of the high contrast. But remember, any color right out of the tube is still a #10. Yes, even yellow!
When I paint, I like to use Contrast - I like to lead the viewer's eye to the contrasting point on the painting - which can be a Value of #10 next to a midtone Value of #5 or a stark dramatic Value of #1. Contrast gives your painting punch, liveliness and dimensionality.
Establishing your Light Source will also create dimension. In this BobBlast, I demo a ball, lit with a dramatic spotlight - lighting only one side of the ball and also shines on the back wall. You will hear me say "Dark Against Light, Dark Against Light" over and over again. Incorporating a light
source in your paintings will give focus, shape, dimension and a point of interest!
Practice Practice Practice!
To view more of my favorite art materials, go to my website and click on my "Studio Resource List" - you can download it as a PDF.
