A Brush With Art.pdf

Shaldon BeachTonal valuesIf viewers thought I was squinting at ShaldonBeach, it wasn't because I needed to change myglasses - I was simply screwing up my eyes toassess the tonal values! This is the best way to seethe real darks and lights that will help you showshape and form in a painting.When I was a small boy at school, one of ourjokes was to show a blank piece of paper tosomeone and ask them what it was. The answerwas 'A white cat in a snowstorm'. Now, if youpainted a white box on a white piece of paper,exactly the same would apply - it would beinvisible. If you outlined it in pencil, it would havesome shape but it still wouldn't look realistic. Forthat, it would need tone.Up until now, I've only shown you washesrepresenting flat areas of colour. But if you lookaround you, you will quickly see that ever)' objectis three-dimensional. To represent nature, it'simportant that you understand how to paintobjects in this way. And, really, there is nomystery'! It is simply by observing the light andshade - the tonal values - that you will be able togive form to whatever you paint.In the figures opposite, I have painted the firstbox (Fig. A) all over with a wash of Hooker'sGreen No. 1. It has no form and it looks flat andunrealistic. In Fig. B, I have taken things a stepfurther. 'When the first wash has dried, I'vepainted it with a second wash over two sides. Inthis way, I've 'turned the light on' and the box hasstarted to take shape. In Fig. C, I've painted anadditional wash on the darkest side and now, asyou can see, the box appears solid.Objects can be seen because light falls on partsof them, forming shadows on other parts. Lightagainst dark - dark against light. You can tryexperimenting with a table or desk lamp. Move itaround to discover for yourself how some objectscan be seen more easily when you change theposition of the light source.There is another way of bringing form andshape into your painting. This is by putting toneand shading with pencil into your drawing first,then painting a simple wash over the top. In Fig.D, I've done just that and you can see the colourI've used underneath the box. The paint on thebox is just the same but it's gone over the tonesthat were already there and this makes the boxlook three-dimensional in colour. This method isuseful if you don't want to mix a lot ofcomplicated washes and it is called pencil andwash. I've used pencil and wash with the bluetube, too. There's no need to add any extra paintbecause the pencil shading is giving the tube formand shape, making it look three-dimensional.Now it's your turn. Find some objects and lookat them carefully for light and shade. Screw upyour eyes and analyse their dark and light areas.Then practise painting them. I hope you will findthis as exciting as 1 do - it's a wonderful feeling,creating the illusion of a three-dimensional objecton a flat piece of paper! And remember, the firstthing to do when you look at a subject is to screwup your eyes to see form and shape - that's darkagainst light and light against dark!46