Gray Scale Chart

Value is the light or darkness of a color.For example: If you took a black and white photograph of a painting, the shades of grey would be the different values or tones within the painting.

Value is the most important design element of a painting.

To create the illusion of depth, gradations of value

are also used.Chiaroscuro [Italian] : chiaro, bright, light + oscuro, dark (from Latin obscūrus)

LIGHT

MEDIUM LIGHTS

MEDIUM… the GRAY

MEDIUM DARKS

DARKVALUE

Color Theory

The colors of the object also become less saturated and shift towards the background color, which is usually blue, but under some conditions may be some other color (for example, at sunrise or sunset distant colors may shift towards reds).

Grayscale

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE or ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as it is viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its background decreases, and the contrast of any markings or details within the object also decreases.

Misty MountainsMATERIALS Needed Today:

• 5” X 7” Canvas Board *• #8 Filbert brush• Palette paper• Water• Acrylic painting medium• Pencil

COLOR PALETTE:

• Ultramarine Blue• Cadmium Red Medium• Unbleached Titanium • Titanium White• Mars/Ivory Black (will provide)

1. First we will sketch the composition with a pencil.

2. Paint the foreground trees with a mixture of : Ultramarine Blue, the Black and a little Cadmium Red Medium.

Simplify the shapes of the trees rather than show details since this scene is from a distance. Try NOT to repeat shapes. In a natural scene there is always a random pattern, not a repeated one.

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3. Add a little: Unbleached Titanium and Ultramarine Blue to the first mixture you just used.

4. Use this medium dark value to paint the set of mountains directly behind the foreground. Note: As the hills progress farther into the distance, the value of each individual shape will become lighter with each layer.

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5. Add more Unbleached Titanium to the mixture and paint the next hill in the distance. This color will have a medium value= GRAY. To add to the illusion of distance, gradually flatten the silhouettes of the hills as they get closer to the horizon.

6. Add more Unbleached Titanium to the mixture to create a medium-light value and paint the next hill in the distance. The top of this hill should be almost perfectly horizontal. Understand that as more atmosphere between the viewer and the distant hills desaturates and lightens the colors.

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7. To complete the painting add more Unbleached Titanium to the mixture and paint the final row of hills at the horizon.

8. Paint the sky by adding Titanium While and Unbleached Titanium to the mixture you’ve use so far.

9. Make any adjustment to the edges, colors, and values.

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Next week

Tinting Activity

I will bring the supplies needed to gesso or prime a canvas… you need to bring an extra canvas or canvas board.

I will give you the directions for the Tinting Assignment (similar to what we did today but with two colors)

Color Gradation

Saturated Desaturated Start with white add a tiny amount of blue

Tinting