Hi! I wanted to add an argument for why i think it's good (at least for me) to focus on hue instead of value. And i will ask a question at the end! For a long time i painted mainly by focusing on values because i heard that "if you get the value right then the hue doesn't really matter, it will look good anyway", which was sort of true. I could always get a painting that "works". I just looked at any part of a scene and asked "is that lighter or darker than the surroundings" and then painted that colour. Then i found out that there are artists who mainly describe forms, like how a face turns from light to shadow, with more or less only chroma. I looked at some of William Bouguereau's portraits in photoshop and saw that if i picked the colours he used in the faces, many of them never drop to a lower value. When he paints the shadows he only uses more chroma in the colour. This blew my mind. Then i thought, what if you can describe form by focusing mainly on hue shifts? And this has to do with what you said about "no one is going to use a blue when you are looking at a yellow". Because this is now basically what i'm trying to do. Now i look at the scene i want to paint, i try to lift up any darker values i see to get as small of a value range as possible, so basically a very high key painting. Then wherever i see a form turning, and where i would before just shift the value and/or chroma, now i try to shift the hues instead. This has changed everything for me. My paintings have so much more life and colour and i don't get the same dead feeling as before. You could argue that i'm actually changing what i'm seeing to something else in the painting, because values are different then in real life, but i actually think i'm getting a lot closer to the real feeling of the scene in front of me. You say in the video that you can't actually separate colour and value (and i understand that you are right), but right now i really feel like i'm trying to separate colour and value. If i don't actively ask myself in every moment "How would i describe this if i couldn't use value shifts?" I tend to get distracted by the values and then i put less colour in the painting. For me, focusing on value first is a sure way to get a lifeless painting. And if i could add a question at the end: I've been looking at some of Monet's paintings and he definitely seems to be doing what i'm trying to describe, at least sometimes. Some of his paintngs are very high key and the shadows glow and he's at the same time not loosing much chroma in the light. Could you mention other artists who do this? I also emailed you two of my paintings to show you the differens in my approaches and how that effects my paintings! Sorry for the wall of text, and thank you so much for the videos!
Hi Paul thanks again The ever changing world of painting is the thing that keeps me coming back, every painting is the same but different by that I mean the problem and solutions . Same pack of horse's but they never behave the exactly the same in the same situation the red one my misbehave the first time the dark one on another and so on ,same tune different dance. This is the love of painting . The ever changing environment we play in. Not easy to explain as the post move all the time but your explanations are the greatest. Thanks for the good job you're doing Sheila
Tertiary note: Steichen's "Flat Iron Building" appears bluish because he used a light-sensitized blue-green gum arabic coated over a platinum print photograph. This would not have been at all a glossy print. The gum is re-exposed to the same image and the image reprocessed. He made additional prints of the same image in later years using different gum colors. Still used by a few practitioners, this process was a favorite of some of the so-called Pictorialist school of photographers in the late 19th and early 20th C. The platinum print, especailly when the emulsion is coated on a soft-surface paper, tends to yield a low-contrast image with soft detail. The gum was sometimes brushed up to mimic paintbrush strokes.
Thank you. I've been looking over some of the comparison images that I have of my earlier paintings. Where some of the values were too light in tone, I can still correct them. The result is a definite improvement. The look is more dynamic and more interesting.
Thank you! This just showed up in my feed the day after I was wondering about something similar and it felt like an answer from the universe. And it was the first time I’ve been introduced to Benson who is a very exciting artist. All the very best from Canada. 🖌️✨💖
I like Utrecht's refined linseed oil, primarily because it doesn't turn brown in the bottle. I mix it with my white initially to create the right viscosity and don't want it to become a browning influence over time.
With no sense of a pun, there is no black nor white to this question as you eluded to or as I came to believe from your discussion. Colour first, Value first, both are so important and values makes sense of the image. Nature versus imagination, doesn't nature dictate to an imaginary presentation in respect to making sense? There is not definitive answer, just an understanding to work at both to get your ideas across.
Hi! I wanted to add an argument for why i think it's good (at least for me) to focus on hue instead of value. And i will ask a question at the end!
For a long time i painted mainly by focusing on values because i heard that "if you get the value right then the hue doesn't really matter, it will look good anyway", which was sort of true. I could always get a painting that "works". I just looked at any part of a scene and asked "is that lighter or darker than the surroundings" and then painted that colour.
Then i found out that there are artists who mainly describe forms, like how a face turns from light to shadow, with more or less only chroma. I looked at some of William Bouguereau's portraits in photoshop and saw that if i picked the colours he used in the faces, many of them never drop to a lower value. When he paints the shadows he only uses more chroma in the colour. This blew my mind.
Then i thought, what if you can describe form by focusing mainly on hue shifts? And this has to do with what you said about "no one is going to use a blue when you are looking at a yellow". Because this is now basically what i'm trying to do.
Now i look at the scene i want to paint, i try to lift up any darker values i see to get as small of a value range as possible, so basically a very high key painting. Then wherever i see a form turning, and where i would before just shift the value and/or chroma, now i try to shift the hues instead. This has changed everything for me. My paintings have so much more life and colour and i don't get the same dead feeling as before. You could argue that i'm actually changing what i'm seeing to something else in the painting, because values are different then in real life, but i actually think i'm getting a lot closer to the real feeling of the scene in front of me.
You say in the video that you can't actually separate colour and value (and i understand that you are right), but right now i really feel like i'm trying to separate colour and value. If i don't actively ask myself in every moment "How would i describe this if i couldn't use value shifts?" I tend to get distracted by the values and then i put less colour in the painting. For me, focusing on value first is a sure way to get a lifeless painting.
And if i could add a question at the end: I've been looking at some of Monet's paintings and he definitely seems to be doing what i'm trying to describe, at least sometimes. Some of his paintngs are very high key and the shadows glow and he's at the same time not loosing much chroma in the light. Could you mention other artists who do this?
I also emailed you two of my paintings to show you the differens in my approaches and how that effects my paintings!
Sorry for the wall of text, and thank you so much for the videos!
Hi Paul thanks again
The ever changing world of painting is the thing that keeps me coming back, every painting is the same but different by that I mean the problem and solutions .
Same pack of horse's but they never behave the exactly the same in the same situation the red one my misbehave the first time the dark one on another and so on ,same tune different dance.
This is the love of painting .
The ever changing environment we play in.
Not easy to explain as the post move all the time but your explanations are the greatest.
Thanks for the good job you're doing
Sheila
Thanks for expressing your appreciation, Sheila...always needed
Awesome video, Paul! Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge & experience.
I appreciate that!
Really great and interesting video. Thanks!!
Welcome, Chompers
So wonderful to get this video, it's a gift. Thank you Paul!
Great, and very welcome.
Tertiary note: Steichen's "Flat Iron Building" appears bluish because he used a light-sensitized blue-green gum arabic coated over a platinum print photograph. This would not have been at all a glossy print. The gum is re-exposed to the same image and the image reprocessed. He made additional prints of the same image in later years using different gum colors. Still used by a few practitioners, this process was a favorite of some of the so-called Pictorialist school of photographers in the late 19th and early 20th C. The platinum print, especailly when the emulsion is coated on a soft-surface paper, tends to yield a low-contrast image with soft detail. The gum was sometimes brushed up to mimic paintbrush strokes.
Fascinating...thanks, Philip!
Thank you.
I've been looking over some of the comparison images that I have of my earlier paintings. Where some of the values were too light in tone, I can still correct them. The result is a definite improvement. The look is more dynamic and more interesting.
Great to hear! yes
Thank you! This just showed up in my feed the day after I was wondering about something similar and it felt like an answer from the universe. And it was the first time I’ve been introduced to Benson who is a very exciting artist. All the very best from Canada. 🖌️✨💖
It is! Universal in some way, that is. :)
Paul, do you use refined linseed oil or regular linseed oil to keep your paints creamy and workable?
I like Utrecht's refined linseed oil, primarily because it doesn't turn brown in the bottle. I mix it with my white initially to create the right viscosity and don't want it to become a browning influence over time.
Thank you Paul. I enjoyed today's chat
I think of you each time I make a video, Stephen, so I'm glad.
@@PaulIngbretson thank you so much Paul, you are truly a good friend
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Wonderful video.
So nice of you
Great video! just found your channel recently, so much knowledge!
Welcome aboard! hope it's helpful to you.
Love your lecture❤
Thank you! 🙂
Great talk, thank you. And, thanks for the introduction to Edward Steichen, a whole world of value there!
Absolutely!
With no sense of a pun, there is no black nor white to this question as you eluded to or as I came to believe from your discussion. Colour first, Value first, both are so important and values makes sense of the image. Nature versus imagination, doesn't nature dictate to an imaginary presentation in respect to making sense? There is not definitive answer, just an understanding to work at both to get your ideas across.
Exactly, Mike, and thanks.