Faneuil Hall. Tonal Values- July 5, 2015 WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 1

Transcription

1 Watercolor on Location Faneuil Hall Tonal Values- July 5, 2015 WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 1

2 Introduction This week we are looking at Faneuil Hall at the heart of the marketplace where it is busy with families and visitors eating, shopping, having fun. In our previous sessions we have talked about creating a focus point or center of interest, seeing the buildings, trees, people. as shapes, learning some basic ideas of perspective and working with figures and this week we are looking at a busy scene and thinking tonal values What do we mean by Tonal Values The word value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. Those who work in the visual arts have long believed that tonal values are more important than the color itself The artist trains himself to be able to recognize tonal values when observing nature. This sounds like something we should be able to do naturally, unfortunately it requires us to practice observing, while thinking "values and value relationships". The confusing part is that we perceive color and value simultaneously, we learn filter the world of colors to see values more directly. So as a first step lets understand what it is we are looking for. Visual aides are always helpful in explaining visual challenges so let's start with a picture in color and compare it to a picture in black and white. WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 2

3 The black and white version is more precisely the tonal version. Colors have been reduced to black and white. Did the tonal version correspond to your expectation? You will notice some artists spend a lot of time looking at their subject while squinting. They in fact are trying to deduce values most of the time. One draw back is squinting creates wrinkles but does help us to see the tonal value of a color. When you squint you will notice that the image blurs, and that the color fades. Other methods are available, I have seen some artists use a sheet of amber acetate to look through, turning the world into a golden tonal picture. Sunglasses also create this effect. A more recent addition is your smartphone which comes bundled with photo software that allows you to filter a photo into a black and white image. Very handy since we often grab photos as reminders anyway. These are helpful in understanding tonal values but nothing beats repeated experience and practice, it is near impossible to do a painting from your smartphone anyway. Simplify Our eyes can perceive roughly 100 different variations of any one color. To try and paint all these variations would only result in frustration. Again I return to the mantra "simplify". Have a look at the illustration of a basic value scale. This value scale contains 9 iterations of a gray from white to black. It is good to practice this scale. We have 2 ways to make the color darker in the media of watercolor 1- is to add more of the same pigment to the color. By adding more pigment the color becomes thicker to the point where it is of the same consistency as freshly squeezed out paint. Then it is as dark as it will get. 2 - The second way is to add black. An added effect is that the color become grayer as you add more black. Warm up you awareness of Values with a Tonal Value Scale WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 3

4 Practice this with several colors to create a feel for the paint consistency. What matters here is the observable change from light to dark through the scale. As a drill it's a good idea to practice making this value scale. Along the way you will learn that it's the a proportion of water in the pigment that creates lightness or darkness of any one color. Also interesting to note that most of the colors on our palette are in the 5, 6, 7 value range with yellow being on the low side maybe 3. It's easy to lighten the colors, we just add water, to make them darker we have to add either the compliment or black. Try the same value scale with your primary hues as a drill. A benefit of looking at your subject from a point of view of tonal values is that you will be able to foresee a potential problem with the painting. For example in todays image I feel there is a problem with so many dark trees. There dark presence blocks us from traveling back in the painting. I believe that a few dark trees along the edge of the painting is enough. I also determine to use the strongest darks in my figures and in the cart. I also feel the foreground would be too busy with all those dappled shadows. I show a few but create a much softer entrance into the painting by making a WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 4

5 rather solid shadow. I will also take advantage of the white kiosk in the background and place my major figures which are very dark right in front WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 5

6 I feel in the painting the understanding of tonal values and how they can work to help me emphasize my subject worked well in this painting and enabled me to take a busy complex scene and simplify it Another scene from our class at Faneuil Hall Once we are aware of tonal values and where they appear in our subject we should ask ourselves can I make them work for me? by this I mean can we adjust the position and intensity to give us clarity or perhaps a stronger effect. The answer is yes and in thinking about the how and where we start to engage our creative sense and move towards a stronger statement in our painting. In my sketch and in the sepia study i wanted to show the figures in front of the cafe clearly and also to feel the light moving through the scene. I muted the darks behind the cafe, and somewhat inside the cafe planing to use those stronger darks within the figures. To add contrast I let a passage of bright sunlight pass over the table tops and behind our characters - the sunlight was there but I lengthened it for effect. The sunlight is complemented by cast shadows in the foreground and to the right of the kiosk. These shadows are designed to create an interesting shape and melt into our figures. WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 6

7 Connecting the Darks and Lights In the process of designing the lights and darks in our image a good working thought is to contrive a means to unify the darks and unify the lights. This means that if your lights are scattered over th picture consider joining them or connecting them by extension. The same holds true in using lights. WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 7

8 Look at the painting and notice how the darks of the figures are connected to the darks in the kiosk and to the darks in the shadows as well The same holds true with the light passages which are connected behind the figures and into the kiosk. If you find your darks or lights appear scattered and disconnected look for ways to connect them. Here are the steps to the painting above After placing the drawing I start to paint a light wash of ochre into the aground - my main thought however is to establish the position of the white or light areas of the painting. Next I add some sienna and cobalt blue - 2 colors which work well together to establish the darker mid tones. I create references to figures signage and shadows WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 8

9 Now I start to work with my stronger darks placing the figures and also connecting these darks to the kiosk. In the final stages I add darker details and the big shadow area to connect the darks in the figures to the foreground visual communication. Tonal values and their importance to creating a strong readable image is one of the foundations in WATERCOLOR ON LOCATION - FANEUIL HALL 9