I've been teaching this week about light masses and atmosphere. Below is a diagram I made regarding the values that are generally applied to a landscape painting.
We must always remember that the earth is round and not flat like a photograph that we might be looking at. I'm going to talk about light values from one to ten with number one being the lightest.
Sky values are usually a 1 to 2. The ground is the second lightest area in a landscape with values around 2-3. The ground is flat and receives full light from the sun unless there are shadows blocking the light. Upright objects, such as trees, range in the values from 7-10. And, say there are mountains. They should always be portrayed in a convex scheme and they range in values from 4-6.
When you think about from where you're standing, all the way to the horizon, there are many veils of water droplets in the atmosphere. This affects light and color. As objects recede, they become cooler. As they come closer, they are warmer. You want to pay attention to this before you even begin your painting.
I recommend that you choose an impressionists painting to study and do a painting from. You'll learn a lot about color transitions and values. A Monet landscape would be great to paint.
Let's talk more in class about this topic. If you missed my teaching on this, I'll get you up to speed.
Thanks, Jill
Diagram by Jill Saur |
Monet |
Albert Lebourg |
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