A Struggle With Values

Brass Vases still life study

   Yes, I struggle with values almost daily. Well, not quite daily or I'd be better at figuring them out. As you can see from the picture here, the values are a bit muddy and inconsistent. This is a study, not a finished painting. It took three hours of mixing, thinking, eating chocolate and discussing the situation with my most patient, kind and skillful teacher  http://www.kendewaard.com/ Ken DeWaard.
   Going to painting from drawing is a challenge for me; if making good lines is the priority things move along ok but when I have to think about values, in different colors, I am feeling my way into unknown territory. And it feels exactly like groping in the dark for that lost key.
   Yes, this is a mess. I'm posting it because I expect to do something better, and then again better, through the coming weeks. Keeping these studies and attempts up where I can see them is helpful. No matter what the problems are in a painting session there is always something to learn and seeing the improvements over time is very satisfying. If only the 'good' pieces are looked at it's harder to see the progress, but compare what one thinks of as a 'good' painting with some earlier efforts is very gratifying.
    It's great fun to work hard on something that I have no idea how to do. Mixing color is one, making values coherent through a whole picture in different colors is another. Each time a small part of it is learned it feels like a big step taken and a door opens, just a bit, on one of the best things in life to find: potential. Through that slightly opened doorway of understanding value, I glimpse the potential of creating a painting someday that speaks of light and beauty.

A Return to Pastels

Underpainting for River Shadows
Another excellent class with Kay Brathol-Hostvet http://www.kaybratholhostvet.com/ at the lovely, friendly, comfortable Whispering Woodlands  http://www.whispering-woodlands.com/ near Verona. Thanks to Kay for consistently bringing out the best in each student. I learn something every class. This class I wanted to explore how to get light and color into dark shadowy areas, so chose a view on the Kickapoo River of dark cliffs backlit by afternoon light. The water is dark, the cliffs are dark and the trees above are mostly dark. Even in real life that day those areas were quite shadowy. Picking out the colors that are there takes some practice. So I practice by observing and taking notes at the scene. Later at the easel the hard work starts when it's time to figure out how to translate my ideas of what I saw into something two dimensional on paper. This picture is quite a way from being finished. Above is my first effort to get the 'darkest darks' and light areas down.

Some layers of color.

Next I will probably rub off some of it. The red leaves and details in the distance are premature and can wait until the values are adjusted. It's easy to get ahead of the process and this is a good example of that. It's fun to play with pastels. They rub off   leaving a clear shadow of the removed colors making changes easy to do.