LESSON 5 - Page 2 - Painting the Value Underpainting
Exercise 3 - Paint the Landscape in Monochrome To Create a Value Underpainting
You will need:
- a panel
- a value scale (either the one you made or the one you bought)
- your burnt sienna and blue paints
- one or two #6 brushes
- your palette
- your knife
- clean and dirty Gamsol
- paper towels
The Progression:
- We start with the darkest darks, the vertical shaded side of the marsh mud on the bottom left.
- Next, we move on to the next lightest value, the trees and their reflections.
- Next come the surface of the marsh grass and water on the bottom right.
- And finally the lightest value, in this case, the sky.
Watch the Video - And stop after I paint each value, and paint that value yourself. Then move down the list.
- a panel
- a value scale (either the one you made or the one you bought)
- your burnt sienna and blue paints
- one or two #6 brushes
- your palette
- your knife
- clean and dirty Gamsol
- paper towels
The Progression:
- We start with the darkest darks, the vertical shaded side of the marsh mud on the bottom left.
- Next, we move on to the next lightest value, the trees and their reflections.
- Next come the surface of the marsh grass and water on the bottom right.
- And finally the lightest value, in this case, the sky.
Watch the Video - And stop after I paint each value, and paint that value yourself. Then move down the list.
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This is my value underpainting of the marsh. I mixed ultramarine blue with the burnt sienna for the two darkest values, though it's hard to see that in the trees and reflections (but it's there!). Note that I had to do this twice to get what I wanted, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't go perfectly the first time. You can wipe off, or add paint. I only had to start over because of the recording. |
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Exercise 4 - Making Paint Colors Lighter and Darker
Remember in the previous lesson, where I went over the options for making each color lighter and darker? In this exercise you can do that for yourself. I promise it will stick better if you do the exercise! And it's going to help you a lot with our final lesson.
Watch the Video - And stop and fill in your own squares after I complete the row for each color. You may use a knife or a brush, it will go faster with the knife, but it will work just fine either way.
Watch the Video - And stop and fill in your own squares after I complete the row for each color. You may use a knife or a brush, it will go faster with the knife, but it will work just fine either way.
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This is my finished exercise. Note that I fixed a couple of things I did in the video. - I added the X for lightening blue with a neighbor. - For darkening yellow with a neighbor, I removed the mixture where I went on to add blue, since that is the same as mixing with the complement. If you compare the two columns for darkening yellow, you can see the difference. |
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Notes From Lesson 5
- To make your value underpainting, start painting with the darkest darks, and continue one value at a time until you reach the lightest lights. In a landscape this will usually be the sky.
- Make your burnt sienna darker by adding just a bit of ultramarine blue.
- This "value map" will make the next step (painting with color) a lot easier, because we can paint over the map with the colors.
In preparation for the next lesson:
- There are often two potential ways to make a color lighter, and one can be brighter than the other. When you are painting with color, consider both approaches and choose the one that works best in your current situation.
- There are often two potential ways to make a color darker, and one can be brighter than the other. When you are painting with color, consider both approaches and choose the one that works best in your current situation.
- Make your burnt sienna darker by adding just a bit of ultramarine blue.
- This "value map" will make the next step (painting with color) a lot easier, because we can paint over the map with the colors.
In preparation for the next lesson:
- There are often two potential ways to make a color lighter, and one can be brighter than the other. When you are painting with color, consider both approaches and choose the one that works best in your current situation.
- There are often two potential ways to make a color darker, and one can be brighter than the other. When you are painting with color, consider both approaches and choose the one that works best in your current situation.