Warm Up Painting Exercise - #3 Add Dark Values
The elements in the Still Life are blocked in, now the process of building dark values begins.
Photo left:
I began adding depth by getting some thinned green on the glass. This is a different hue of green than I used earlier.
I also added dark values of grey to the metal jar lid to begin creating the grooved thread lines.
Photo right:
I let those elements rest and moved on to deepen the dark towel stripes. I also started adding depth to the towel where the draping folds are shadowed. There is a cast reflection next to the jar where it sits on the towel and some color tinting in the upper right corner.
Then I went back to the glass, and added the preliminary lettering that is etched in the glass. Earlier when I added the stripes that are seen through the glass, I left some areas white where the lettering would lay over the stripe. But I did add a little bit of white to the darker areas so I would know where my lettering was.
It all sounds quick, but each step of the process is done a few times so to build the paint slowly and not end up with heavy splotches on the canvas. It is the slow layering process that gives the painting depth and softness. Over the next steps I will go back and forth from the glass to the lid to the towel and just keep adding shadows and highlights and color.
Again, this is all done by studying the still life, observation is essential to find all the areas of light, dark and detail. As I get further along with the painting I begin to observe new things that I hadn't seen at first. Because as the painting fills in, the absence of things begins to stand out as you view the actual still life in the light box.
I began adding depth by getting some thinned green on the glass. This is a different hue of green than I used earlier.
I also added dark values of grey to the metal jar lid to begin creating the grooved thread lines.
Photo right:
I let those elements rest and moved on to deepen the dark towel stripes. I also started adding depth to the towel where the draping folds are shadowed. There is a cast reflection next to the jar where it sits on the towel and some color tinting in the upper right corner.
Then I went back to the glass, and added the preliminary lettering that is etched in the glass. Earlier when I added the stripes that are seen through the glass, I left some areas white where the lettering would lay over the stripe. But I did add a little bit of white to the darker areas so I would know where my lettering was.
It all sounds quick, but each step of the process is done a few times so to build the paint slowly and not end up with heavy splotches on the canvas. It is the slow layering process that gives the painting depth and softness. Over the next steps I will go back and forth from the glass to the lid to the towel and just keep adding shadows and highlights and color.
Again, this is all done by studying the still life, observation is essential to find all the areas of light, dark and detail. As I get further along with the painting I begin to observe new things that I hadn't seen at first. Because as the painting fills in, the absence of things begins to stand out as you view the actual still life in the light box.
Comments
Post a Comment