Values In Painting

 VALUES IN PAINTING by Jill Saur

 

I hope all of my students are doing well during this pandemic.  Please don't let the light of your artistic gift be dimmed during this time.  Hang in there.  I've heard from some of you that you're not painting.  I went through my own period where I put my brush down.  However, hope won out and I've been painting up a storm.

Here's a reminder about values in your painting.  Let me know what your up to and send me some pics of your work!  My Best, Jill

The paintings below are by Winslow Homer. The first painting is the original.  The second painting is the same one.  I removed the color from the second image to see the tonal values.

Lightness or tonal value is the light or dark of a color, regardless of its hue. Creating a black and white painting is very helpful to train your eye to perceive value.

Sometimes it’s easier to classify values into three groups: lights, darks, and mid-range.  Roughly, values from one through three are the lightest values.  Values from four through seven are the mid values, and values from eight through ten are the darkest values.  A general guide is that mid-tones should occupy 70% of your painting, the lightest lights 20%, and the darkest darks should occupy 10% of your work.

If I'm going to paint from a photo that I take, the first thing I do is put it in a photo program and I turn it into a black and white image.  When I do this, I know immediately if the image has a good range to make the composition interesting as well as intriguing.

A number of my students have been working on value drawings and paintings.  I hope this tip helps you see the importance of training your eye to see and use value changes in your artwork.

www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Van Gogh's Cafe Sketch

This sketch by Van Gogh was executed in 1878.  Below is a quote in a letter that Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo, regarding this location.  When you click on the link below, click on the quote and then you can read the entire letter.  It's quite beautiful.

I want to focus on how Van Gogh felt about this scene, looking at this cafe gave him a familiar feeling like homesickness and awakened something in him.  I encourage you to find what awakens you, what gives you those feelings deep in the core of your very being that stirs you inside.  These are the things you should draw and paint.  The deeper you feel about what you paint, the more your paintings will emanate emotion, capturing your viewers attention. - Jill Saur    www.JillSaurFineArt.com

There are also places here – as there are everywhere, for that matter, thank God – where one feels at home more than elsewhere, where one gets a remarkable, familiar feeling like homesickness, which has something bitterly melancholy about it but which nevertheless strengthens and awakens the spirit in us and gives us new strength and appetite for work and stimulates us, we know not how or why. - Van Goghhttps://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/letters/collection/d0293V1970

Van Gogh Digitized Works

 

Here's a treat for all you Van Gogh lovers.  The Van Gogh Museum has archived and digitized all of Van Gogh's drawings and paintings for you to enjoy from you own home.  Since the pandemic, visitors have not been able to see his works in person.

Check out the link below.  It's awesome.

I miss all of my students and hope you're doing well during this time.  Stay safe and healthy and I look forward to seeing you in the future! - Jill Saur

https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection?q=&artist=Vincent%20van%20Gogh&pagesize=105

Be Astonished

Martin Glaser, a legendary New York graphic designer, famous for creating the ‘I Love New York’ logo, recently spoke about something that’s dear to my heart.  Martin said, “If you can sustain your interest in what you’re doing, you’re an extremely fortunate person.  What you see very frequently in people’s professional lives, and perhaps in their emotional life as well, is that they lose interest in the third act.  You sort of get tired, and indifferent, and sometimes, defensive and you kind of lose your capacity for astonishment, and that’s a great loss, because the world is a very astonishing place.”

Most Americans lead very busy lives and almost everyone is overwhelmed or distracted by  the covid virus.  It takes effort to re-charge and refresh the creative side but it's vitally important.

I’m in the third act of my life and  I still find wonder in observing nature, seeing the cloud formations before a storm, and getting up early to watch the sunrise over the misty waters of the Chattahoochee River. 

I agree with Martin Glaser, the world is a very astonishing place and I hope you're able to take the necessary time to be utterly astonished too! - Jill Saur

If you'd like to take art classes with me, please visit my website for details.  Thanks!

www.JillSaurFineArt.com