I have found that the biggest thing you can do with regards to value is to control the extremes-  black and white. They are your friends… and they can also be your enemies.

Black and white are the King and Queen of any image and need to be respected and treated very carefully.  Ignore it and your focus is beheaded…

When I used to work in watercolor it was crucial to think about whites in the image and they were always thought out and planned for very carefully. It is a big part of working in the medium because basically if you don’t take care and paint over those areas, then there is no getting them back. But I encourage you to think about black shapes in this way too….

Case in point…

Here is my painting “Impact.”  Notice all the “black” hair swinging around him.  But where is the blackest–black?

Look closely- in his eyes and in the dreds near his eyes. Those are the only spots. Oh, there are other factors at work here to point the viewer to what is important in the image, there are games I play with power, chroma, edges and placement, but black has the major impact (no pun) here.

Now watch what happens if I take my painting and give no thought to the King of darkest values and instead of limiting the black values (to be a bit lighter and more colorful than the area I want to bring into focus-  the eyes) I paint the hair equally all flat and black all around him and and basically flatten it all out.

See a big difference? Not nearly as graceful and rather harsh and “heavy-feeling” and the hair now takes center stage. It is hard to really focus on his eyes now. The big black shape of his hair pulls the most attention, and not in a good way. I have just unsurped my image. (that’s me- willingly ruining my paintings for your viewing pleasure…) 

Our eyes are lazy and our brain will always seek out the areas of the darkest values. If black is not being put to work in a good way then it can take over a great image. I have seen too many paintings over the years that are painted SO WELL but the design of the values is so wonky it almost drives the viewer away. Don’t fall victim into painting what you see—-you are in charge of the King and Queen. (you are Prime Minister) PLAN out your darkest darks and the lightest areas. This may mean limiting pure black in an image like I did above. Following a photo or even painting anything blindly from life will lead you to build an image that is ho-hum. Is there anything worse?

Do those thumbnails! And do them mindfully while controlling pure black across the image. 

Next week-  a kingdom is happiest when the King and Queen work together….