How to Paint Accurate Values
In paintings, color has the power to evoke an immediate emotional response. However, value is the property of color that sets the mood and creates form.
Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. In realistic paintings, artists blend lighter and darker shades of colors to make tonal progressions, which is what makes objects appear three-dimensional. If we just used one value or hue for an object, it would look flat and cartoonish.
How to get determine values when painting from life and from reference photos
To get accurate values, it can help to use a value finder and paint fan deck if you’re painting from life.
This is the Gray Scale and Value Finder that I use. It is available for purchase here.
There are many paint fan decks out there. Pantone makes several. I like Benjamin Moore's Color Preview fan deck because it contains over 1,200 colors, is a practical size, and is relatively inexpensive. You can purchase one here.
If you’re working from a reference photo, the eyedropper tool in Photoshop can identify colors, then you can put the image in grayscale to see what value those colors are.
Seeing values on your palette
Sometimes, it can be difficult to distinguish the value of colors, especially when colors are intense or high chroma.
If our palettes are white, the contrast can also make colors seem darker than they really are. On the other hand, a neutral gray palette provides less contrast and can help us see both the intensity of colors and their values more clearly.
Notice how the value of each palette can change how we perceive the colors on them.
This palette is called the New Wave Posh Neutral Gray palette. It measures 12 x 16 inches and fits perfectly inside the Masterson Sta-Wet Palette Seal. You can purchase the palette here and the seal here.
Using different colors of the same value
The Oil Painter's Color Handbook by Todd M. Casey. You can get a copy here.
You can also try swapping colors that have the same value. In The Oil Painter's Color Handbook, author Todd M. Casey suggests that “color ‘sits on top of’ value.” He thinks that “if you nail the values in a painting, you can put nearly any color on top of the value and it will still work.”
We can see how this is true in historical works like those by Van Gogh and Klimt.
On the left is Van Gogh's original 1887 self-portrait in full color. On the right is the image in black and white. We can see how the red and the green next to each other in his jacket are of similar value so do not disrupt our interpretation of the jacket.
This image is a crop of Klimt's portrait of Mäda Primavesi, painted in 1912. In her face we can see blue, purple, pink, green, and yellow. When the image is put into grayscale, the values do not look out of place, rather, they look similar to how a portrait painted with classic flesh tone colors might look when put into grayscale.
High key and low key paintings
Values can be also shifted together. For example, Impressionists often painted in a higher key, primarily using lighter colors in the 6-10 value range, while many of the Dutch Golden Age artists made paintings in a lower key, using darker colors in the 1-5 value range.
Light colors can evoke a different emotional response than dark colors
You might notice as you look at paintings that you have different emotional responses depending on the colors and values. Paintings like Monet’s, for example, might inspire a feeling of openness or tranquility while a Rembrandt portrait with darker colors may bring a sense of contemplation or heaviness.
Claude Monet
Madame Monet and Her Son
1875
Rembrandt van Rijn
Self-portrait
1660
Value studies and the grisaille technique
Today, we see artists like Andy Evansen simplify compositions into shapes and values prior to painting in color.
Value study and painting by watercolorist Andy Evansen. By simplifying complex compositions into shapes and values, Andy is able to create more dynamic compositions and then apply color more thoughtfully. Images used with the permission of the artist. Check out Andy's website here and Instagram page here.
Similarly, other artists use the grisaille technique create a monochromatic underpainting and then layer colors or add a series of glazes on top.
Example of a grisaille underpainting done in oils by Justin Brooks. Image used with the permission of the artist. Visit Justin's website here and Instagram page here.
Justin Brooks, the artist of the piece above, said he used a combination of sap green, phthalo blue, French ultramarine blue, ivory black, and different whites to create this underpainting.
He plans to add layers of glazes on top to colorize everything, much like how Matt Harvey has done in this portrait:
Matt also outlines his glazing process in this article. See more of his work on his site and Instagram page.
Value is as important as color in painting
In sum, it’s worthwhile to notice what value range resonates with you and be able to select corresponding hues.
Value not only creates a sense of depth and dimension, it guides to viewer’s eye to areas of contrast, because it helps certain elements stand out.
While color adds intensity and emotional impact, value is essential for structure, clarity, and the overall effectiveness of a painting. Both elements work together to enhance the visual experience.
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