Lesson 17
1. Thought
"Remember, no matter how beautifully you paint an object,
it remains a mere study until it is artfully incorporated into
a composition. Occasionally I've seen students whose paint handling
is crude, whose home values are unconvincing, and whose forms
are badly proportioned, but who somehow manage to unify their
paintings and end up with a stronger artistic statement than those
with sophisticated skills yet no eye for the overall effect."
- Charles Sovek, Oil
Painting, Develop your Natural Ability
Note: By "Home Value" Sovek means the basic value of
a simple object. For instance, a lemon has a light home value.
An eggplant has a very dark home value. An orange has a medium
home value.
2. Word for the week:
Limited palette: A selected number of colors on the palette,
which by mixing can often suggest a full range; for example: alizarin
crimson, cadmium yellow, and cobalt blue. - North Light Dictionary
of Art Terms
3. Practice: "Learning bears fruit when it is applied."
| Select five objects of various shapes and sizes with different
home values and arrange them in a group. Avoid lining up objects
evenly in a row. Overlap things. Stack one object on top of
another. Turn a form on its side or even upside down. |
 |
| Begin painting the whole group. Start by painting it as
a mass, using a middle grey or brown tone. Focus on the overall
compositional shape. Keep the background simple. Then
begin to separate the objects by painting in the darks and
lights from the middle tone. |
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| The exercise to the right was done with just three colors
and white. |
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