Outdoorpainting.com asked our readers…
“What's the single greatest challenge you face in
painting outdoors?”
Many of our reader responses to the Newsletter question
were about the challenges brought about by painting
accurate color.
Color is hinged on value. To have good color,
you must have accurate values. To have
accurate values, you must get the correct relationships
between the colors and values right. Colors and values
seen by the human eye are hundreds of times greater than
what is available in your pigments. Because of this, you
must get the differences correct.
EXAMPLE:
For
measurement, we will use a value scale of 10 places, where
0 = black and 9 =white. Let’s say all the things
you see in the sunlight are at a range of 6, 7 and 8 on
the value scale. All the shadows are at a range of 3,
4 and 5. Therefore, all the colors in the sunlight or
shadows must be in their respective value range--including
white and black.
So…white in the shadow cannot be lighter than a
5 on the value scale.
Black in the sunlight can’t be darker than a 6.
Armand
Cabrera ---- winter pastures
11x14- O/C_studio
|
It’s futile to copy the color you’re seeing
unless you compare it to every color
around it. To compare something, you must first have something
to compare it with, right? I always start with the thing
I ‘m sure of…so if I am sure of the color
and value of the sky, I start with that. If I’m
sure of the color and value of the grass, then that will
be my starting point.
I then evaluate all my other colors and
values to my initial choice.
So how do you make the range of different colors you
see in nature fit into the limitations imposed by your
pigments? This is where you can use the other aspects
of color to show the variety of your scene without compromising
the value differences. The other aspects of color are
saturation, hue and temperature.
When faced with a slight change in value, see if you can
use a hue change or temperature change to capture it.
Save your value changes for the great division of light
and shadow.
Armand Cabrera
