Here I painted in each area separately, trying to take in shading while not paying a lot of attention to proper coloring.
In this second attempt, I first placed over the entire panel layers jenkins green followed by layers of quinacridone burnt orange . Then came the foreground with a mix of titanium white and mars black in grisaille fashion. I'd like to refine fore and back ground before laying color over the grays.
Interesting to see these two approaches side by side. I tend to always jump right in with color but I can really see here how reducing the scene to basic grey values is a very important step, especially when working with one light source and establishing the pattern of darks and lights.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good way for me to learn tonality. I was recently advised by a teacher (no lessons yet, just from conversation) to work on tone first before exploring color. I think she meant in a general sense and not simply isolating tone before applying color, but I will soon be applying washes. This is a technique sometimes used with tempera as well--a technique well established prior to the introduction of oils.
ReplyDeleteThese two images are on the same panel and the difference I find striking. The b/w jumps out as the tones seem closer to real. And with acrylics being very new to me, removing the color simplifies my experience with brush and paint control.