Today I've started to cover the canvas with the oh-so-important mid values. The painting is about mid values, with accents of dark and a large light area. Edgar Whitney (astoundingly good teacher of watercolor and no longer with us) used to talk about six value plans that always work, and this painting will definitely be the "small darks, large light in midtones" one. You can find out more about Edgar Whitney's wonderful design lessons in his book Watercolor Painting. The section on designing good paintings is priceless. Learning to recognize the value plans in successful paintings can help to make your own work stand up to scrutiny. The light area of water behind the dog's head will not be pure white, either. I save those highest values for the rim lighting on the dog and the sparkles on the water. Right now, though, I'm concerned mainly with making interesting mid tones in lots of grayed hues, staying mainly with the purple/yellow, blue/orange combinations. I also lowered the pelvis and angle of he back for more illusory speed.
No comments:
Post a Comment