Three Value Study

9x12, oil on panel

In preparation for doing a local tone painting, I did this study using three value groups. To do this you can have variety of color but only one light value, one medium value and one dark value. So my dark value is the black and the browns.There is a little glare on this painting so some of the darks don't look as dark as they are. The medium group is the largest group and it is the grass and the barn itself. I used yellow green at the top left side of the hill down to a blue green where it hits the fence, but it is all in one value if you squint down. On the barn, to keep it from feeling too flat, I add blues to gray the reds down on the "shadow" side, yet kept it in the same value as the front, which is a richer red. The light group would be the sky and the roof and the sheep in the field. The roof is a greener gray and the texture I used also helps to differentiate it from the sky, which has more blue in it. But again, if you squint you will see how they merge into one value. This was a fun exercise and has me primed for the next painting, which will be local tone. Stay tuned.

Gray-scale showing three value groups, light, medium and dark

This barn was a "drive by" as I was traveling with my aunt through North Carolina. We were leaving the Smokey Mountains and starting to head East towards Raleigh//Durham. The road was amazingly narrow, rolling and curvy. Luckily, I was not driving at the time so I was able to hang my head out of the window trying to snap some photos as we whizzed by.

Finished Staircase at the Jardin des Plantes -Name that Painting Opportunity

Still No Name, 24x30, oil on panel

Here is the end product for now. From the last post, I did a lot of tidying up. I started with making the blocks of granite on the shadow side of the staircase darker. I thought that would help contrast with the light. Then I started putting more details into the different plants so that they would be overall more distinct one from the other and also, if you are a gardener, at least you might be able to guess the family. Some plants are more identifiable then others. Since the red begonias are almost dead center and also so very red, I spent some time on that pot. I really wanted the textures to come out so that spindly fine leaves would contrast with thicker leaves and so that you could tell if they were a succulent or not. On the wall in the sun, I toned down the light hitting there so that the wall would not compete with the light on the staircase. I also added more tendrils and the expired plants leaning into the wall area. I am going to let it sit for awhile to see if there is anything more to be done.
If any of you have any bright ideas for a name for this painting, I am open to suggestions. Thanks!