Two Ways to Find Value Contrast with Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (Ep.36) knows that the eye likes contrast.
Contrast comes in many varieties including color and temperature.
But there is one the eye likes best.
Value contrast is the most powerful contrast you have in art. A light light next to a dark dark will demand the eye’s attention.
Roberts looks for references that have good contrast between light and dark. He goes out to paint early in the morning or in the late afternoon. During clear days, these times create natural light with long shadows that will create value contrast in his subjects.
However, depending on where you live or the time of year, you may not have access to a whole lot of sunny days. What do you do then?
The answer: Find subjects with strong value contrast in their local color.
Put it to Practice:
When an artist says local color, she means the colors innate to the objects themselves. A row of trees might be green. A building, blue. An lemon, yellow.
Even on an overcast day, those colors have a value to them. Look for combinations that have value contrast. For example, on an overcast day, you might be able to find a row of dark trees next to a field of light green grass..
Or at the beach, the sand is light while the coats are dark.
This is true in non landscape subjects as well. If you don’t have the ability to set up dramatic lighting on your florals, make sure to grab flowers that have both light and dark contrasts within the colors of the bouquet themselves.
Put a light coffee mug on a dark saucer on a mid tone napkin.
There are ways to create value contrast even if you don’t have dramatic lighting to do the heavy lifting.
Create strong design and composition in your work by listening to Ep.36 with Ian Robers.