The Backyard is My Grayscale Oyster

Oh, values. The bane of my art existence. Why can't I get this? We're talking basics here, but I just can't seem to translate what I see/want to paint into something that is effective from a value point of view. So for composition #2, I dug into my plein air bag (dusty from long storage), and pulled out some tools I bought years ago and never really used: the EASyL Viewfinder and ValueComp from Artwork Essentials.

Composition #2. Started as a rectangle but the
value masses looked better in a square format.

Since it was a beautiful spring day and we're still under shelter-in-place rules, I walked around the backyard with the red film to my face until something came into view where I could see three distinct values (light, medium, dark). It actually wasn't easy to find. Most everything was mid-tone. Anything I would have considered painting in the past was mid-tone. Even light shading an object was not enough to create a "value mass," as Ian Roberts says is necessary for a compelling composition.

I finally found some late afternoon light creating some hard shadows across the herb garden and onto the back wall of the house. Not the best scene, but it would do. I positioned my chair to divide up the space and started to draw. This little drawing, approximately 4" square, took me 45 minutes! I hope to improve that timing. If I were outdoors to paint, the sun would already be in a different position from what initially attracted me. And a lot of the time, I'm squeezing an hour of art time into my life, so that only leaves 15 minutes to paint. Definitely need to get quicker at these compositions.

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Becoming an Artist

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