Seems like I’m always chasing time on Thursdays and now natural light – that time of year I suppose, but happy to say here is update #6 on Water Veil.
Today my work continued on the upper-left corner of the scene, filling in more of the rocks. The middle layer that was worked on is much bumpier texture, so today I used a lot of squibble-type circles to get the texture I was looking for. Graphite pencils used were 4H, 2H and HB. Next week should see the top finished for this layer of the base being completed, although the top-middle portion of the drawing will have a flow of water falling in front of it – so less definition will be detected on the rocks.
Until next week, here is Water Veil #6,
Water Veil #6 Close-Up
Oil Pastels by Mary 
Love to see you work grow ! 😉
I have a lot of trouble, to see, what you are doing now.
Take a picture and find the tones and fill them in from dark to light. Do you have some tips for me, to get this in my fingers ? (I also have this problem at paintings, therefor it looks all very flat. 😦 )
Thanks Petronette! Without dark, you cannot have light – in otherwords when you are drawing or painting values relate to each medium. Some simplified explanations: with graphite pencils 4H, 2H, HB are harder leads providing lighter shading (4H being the lightest). As you go into the b’s: B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 6B, 8B, 9B (9B the darkest) the softer the lead the higher the number thus the darker the shading becomes.
For example with oil paints or acrylics, take a pure pigment of blue (and staying in the blue family, mixing it with no other color pigment) by adding white you’ll get a higher, but lighter value – by adding black you’ll get a lower and darker value. To get a range of values going lighter or darker – you vary the amount of white or black. This is only an example with a pure pigment of color.
This was a very simplistic explanation of determining value ranges. You can also take a colored photograph and change it to no color saturation, so it becomes black and white. Look at the various value levels from the highest (lightest – white) to the lowest value (darkest, black). If you examine the B&W photograph you’ll be able to see different values.
If you’re paintings are flat (means 2-dimensional), that means you don’t have enough darks w/n the shadows or lights w/n the highlighted areas. It doesn’t mean you have to go overboard in applying the darks or lights a little goes a long ways in making a difference and seeing more of a 3-dimensional effect. But, and there is always a but, what is the atmosphere or tone of the subject/scene, is your foreground darker than the middle-ground and background to give more of a distant perspective? Before you begin painting plan for what do you want the viewer to see, asking some of the basic questions. Example, if you have trees in the background and trees in the middle or foreground, you would expect to have the background trees with less detail, grayed and somewhat bluer/purple so they stay in the distant. The foreground trees will have detail, be much darker, greener (whatever the local color is) and finally the middle-ground will be in between.
I hope that this helps. Value ranges (in my opinion) are the most important aspect of painting or drawing, second is edging (hard and soft) and finally color.
Thanks Mary !!!
And I think I have to practice a lot !!! 😉
The little I can see, it seems that it has a lot of details. Wonderful! 😀
Thanks Patricia – it’s fun, drawing takes me to a very different place than painting. An escape for me in some respects – love it.
Interesting Mary like the details development here…
Thanks Doron, So many interesting patterns are emerging with the rocks – I love working them.
I love the scene looking forward to see it progressed, have a good week.
Thanks Doron – I’m a bit anxious by the water fall, but will never know how to do it until I try. Have a wonderful week!
It’s going so well Mary!
Thanks for commenting Elena!