Page 15 - The Decorative Painter Spring 2017

Invaluable Values PART 1 OF A 2-PART SERIES
by Nanette Hilton
Reflecting on last year’s accomplishments
or failures gives insight to where we’d like
to focus our efforts during the new year. Where we invest our resources depends on our values. Do we exercise or paint, clean the house or take a nap, work or play? It’s a balancing act between good things–an effort to identify what is elective or essential.
Values are relative and essential, even when it comes to painting. One of the most fundamental skills artists employ is the management of value– value being defined here as a gradation of light and dark. Value defines shape. Value creates perspec- tive. Value conveys texture. Without value, we lose meaning. Look at the examples at the bottom of the page.
The color image (figure 1) is easily inter- preted, as is the grayscale image (figure 2). Both have identical values. Originally I painted this image in color. When I digitally transpose it to grayscale, you see that the values are very close. In fact, so close that I almost lost the edge of the topmost petal!
Below is a notan of the same painting
(figure 3). A notan is an image made up entirely of flat black and white, free of values. The image is unreadable.
Color is secondary, even optional, whereas value is factual and fundamental. If we wish to improve our painting skills we are wise to focus on understanding value, improving our value
judgment and ability to create value change in our work.
We all understand the meaning of value: a gra- dation of light and dark. We often call it highlight and shadow. If I instruct a painter to highlight something, he/she should understand that it’s catching the light source and advancing, whereas shading is done in tight places obscured from the light source and is intended to push the planes of an image backward to create shape and perspec- tive. So I would say something to my students like, “Shade behind, beneath and in tight spaces.” Reflected light is tricky but essential to creating realistic paintings.
Learning to gauge value is hard work. It may be innate for some artists while others require more focused study and practice. No matter where you lie on this spectrum of ability, simply being aware of the values around will help you. Look. See. Study. You will see shadow and illumi- nation. Be observant. Nature is your best teacher.
As you paint you can identify areas needing value change by using a monochrome filter made of primary-colored plastic film, traditionally red, available at office supply stores as plastic dividers. Cut the divider to desired size, reinforcing edges with masking tape. Overlay your painting with this film to see value changes in grayscale. You can iden- tify a specific value by comparing your film-covered painting to a value finder pictured below.
Email: nanettehilton@gmail.com Website: nanettehilton.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ nanette.hilton
Figure 1
Figure 2
Grand Canyon Sunrise, by Nanette Hilton published in
The Decorative Painter, Issue 3, 2009.
Stay tuned for Part Two, improving your skill at developing value change in your artwork in the next issue of The Decorative Painter.
In the meantime, create a monochrome filter and a value finder to help you at seeing the values all around you.
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The Decorative Painter • SPRING 2017 13
Figure 3