Mixing tones to map your paintings is just as important as mapping your paintings.
After you’ve made your drawing with charcoal and sprayed it, and after you’ve scumbled your mid-tone on to your painting, become aware of the tones equal to the highest lights and darks in your painting.
Mix up a tone equal to the highest lights on the cast shadow, and map out the shapes of the light massess on your study, leaving the scumbled tone for the half tones. Make a note of where the light masses come sharply against the half tones and where they merge softly into them.
You will find that the scumbled tone of your ground will mix with the tone of the lights with which you are painting, and darken it somewhat. This will enable you to get the amount of variety you want in the tone of the lights. The thicker you paint the lighter it will the tone.
The thiner paint will be more affected by the original half tone, and will consequently, be darker.
When this is done, mix up a tone equal to the darkest shadow, and proceed to map out the shadows in the same way as you did the lights. Noticing where they come sharply against the half tone and where they are lost.
When the lights and shadows have been mapped out, if this has been done with any accuracy, your work should be well advanced. So you are ready to correct and refine your painting here and there as you feel it needs to be.
These principals will teach you to:
1) How to lay a tone
2) How to manage a brush
3) How to resolve appearances into a simple structure of tones
4) How to manipulate your paint so as to express the desired shape.
I don’t suggest that this is the right or only way of painting, but I do suggest that exercises of this description will teach you many of the basic essentials of painting.
To see how I use this information please go to http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com. I invite you to contact me. I welcome your questions or comments. You will have a reply with in 24 hours or less.
I’d like to point out that the e-book “Canvas Painting 101″ will only be available until midnight August 13, 2009. This book has valuable information, whether you are painting in oils, acrylics, watercolors or pastels. So, order now, while it is still free and available. Just write your name and e-mail in the block provided at the top right of this post.
Honor Your Creative Spirit?
Ellene
Ellene Breedlove Davis
http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com
