Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Distant Shore Value Study


Distant Shore, L. Daniel, 8 x 10



This morning, I am heading off to California with my good friend Julie Davis to attend the Weekend with the Masters painting workshops! I went last year and learned so much; and this year's line-up promises to be the same. I have all-day sessions with Camille Przewodek, Daniel Pinkham and Frank Serrano - all painting masters in their own right. I tremble with excitement!! :)

In preparation for the workshops, I have been doing these value studies. It's been such good discipline (hard at times) and practice at distinguishing relative lights and darks. One of my readers asked a great question, would I suggest taking a photograph of my subject and changing it to grayscale in order to "see" the values? My answer was no...

The beauty of doing these exercises is that the more you do, the more your eye will learn to see subtle value shifts in real time. Using a photograph will rob you of some very important sensitivity training and the resulting muscle memory. I am not saying never use photographs for anything (never say never), but don't use them as a shortcut. They are no replacement for direct painting from direct experience; and they may slow down your progress in the long run.

10 comments:

Linda Popple said...

These value studies are beautiful in their own right and I have learned from them, too. Now I need to get busy and do some of those studies.

Have fun at Weekend with the Masters! Your have some great instructors!! :-)

Anonymous said...

Your paintings are lovely!

Caroline Peña Bray said...

I agree! I do work from photographs but I modify them a lot while painting to get more lively, nuanced and subtle tones in my paintings. Otherwise following a photograph note for note can lead to a 'dead' painting - no matter how good your camera. Great to see your value studies - they're really something to learn from. Have a great weekend with Julie and the Masters!

Anonymous said...

Great blog - glad I found it!

Jason
fellow artist :)
www.onlineartdemos.co.uk

Unknown said...

great post you have ....love it...its kinda abstract....keep it up..

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regards,
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Unknown said...

great painting you have.

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crispin said...

terrific drawing you've created. I admire those you can paint very well.

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