Thursday, November 2, 2017

ACCENTUATING VALUES AND SHAPES



When we get to where we're paying attention to shapes instead of things we see new horizons for our painting fun.  This is a game changer!  Laboring to render "things" is a frustration to having fun with color, design and expression.  The three most important things about painting shapes are, values, values and then values.  This is what enables us to make our paintings "pop".  If the values in our paintings aren't rightly related the rest results in disappointment and confusion. 

Don't get me wrong the shapes we paint often enclose a "thing", or combine two or more "things" into one shape.  But if we don't see them first as shapes to be designed, we're limited as to what we can do to make beautifully related color, and the sense of light, and atmosphere.  

Step one: Identify the big shapes that will make up your painting, and design them for focus.
Step two: Determine the values in the light and those in the shade, and separate them. Exaggerate!
Step three: Emphasize the form by showing how light acts as it falls on things.
Step four:  Block-in the painting by relating the big simple value shapes. 

RED CREEK BLUES
©Jimmy Longacre 2017
11X14 oil on canvas panel

Jimmy Longacre
subjective realist landscape paintings


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