Texas Landscape - Workshop Value Study Demo

Texas Landscape, 6 x 8, oil, L. Daniel © 2018

Value Study Demo for Wimberley Artist Workshops

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching a group of fabulous painters in Wimberley, Texas. This was a four-day workshop with the Wimberley Artists Workshops, and it was an all-inclusive, total immersion set up. It's a such great way to go... beautiful accommodations at the Creekhaven Inn, with  all meals taken care of... we were completely free to just paint and learn!

We started out the first day with a value study in the morning, and then painted the same thing in color after lunch. It was a great exercise, until the winds picked up in the afternoon... all but two of our easels blew over, and it was a bit of a battle. But no one gave up!! And that is the risk of plein air, right? You never know what is going happen! 

The value study was designed to help students learn about atmospheric perspective... to see how values diffuse in the distance, and to learn to incorporate that change to give depth to their paintings. We started out mixing a range of grays... 

5 mixed values plus white and black

(We mixed a rich black with ultramarine and burnt sienna.)

First came a sketch of the scene.

I looked for layers going into the distance.

Next came the grays... 

 Working dark to light...

The sky (where the lightest lights are) comes last.

In the finished value study...

Notice how each plane lightens and softens as it gets farther away.

The foreground has darkest darks and greatest contrast.

In the distance, values come together and contrast goes away.

Below are pictures of my students, hard at work! 

Many thanks to all, especially to Judy and Jocelyn for sharing your photos!