Because I had software problems last time I was unable to edit my photos well enough to post on the blog so this is a combination of weeks one and two.
I started out on a golden brown, sanded, commercial paper, this is one of those preferences that an artist develops over the years, however, if all you have is regular pastel paper that is white or another color that is fine, you do not have to be exactly like mine because there are way too many variables to get close, use what you have the lesson is on using the value system not what paper you use. Just be aware that a lighter color paper or white paper will influence the over all look of the painting so you may have to adjust how you paint to get the results you want. Again, none of the painting in class will look the same so don't sweat the small stuff.
Starting in the sky I used a light yellow and white with a slightly darker yellow at the top. This is Arizona, it gets hot there, it was also late afternoon when I took the photo so to convey the feeling of late afternoon heat, I went with the yellow. You can make your sky blue if you want, just be sure to start out very light and the bottom and get just a bit darker towards the top. I lightly blended the sky before I started the first mountain range.
The most distant range is just about one value darker than the sky. Have your photo and value scale handy as you paint and check it often so you don't get too dark when it should be light. You mind will play tricks on you.
I used a soft light blue gray and white to get the value I wanted on the distant mountain range. The second range is just another value darker than the first so I used a light purple, with a little light blue and white to get the value. The third range was a slightly darker blue/purple with light blue and white to change the value and I blended in between each layer before going to the next.
At the base of the front mountains there are some darker alluvial fans at the very base, they are just slightly darker than what is there.
The valley floor is closer to us so now we start to see a bit of color but it is not the bright colors of the foreground and it is the next value on the scale. You should only be up to the 4th value from white to do this first part of the the painting. If you need to add gray to your browns along with white for a value change, that's what you need to do, you can also use a light blue to help gray the color.
This was week 1.
One thing you can do with the value scale is to put your chalk where the hole is on a value you want, then squint to see if it blends in with the value, this is what I did when choosing my colors, I am at least in the ball park.
Desert plants are usually not bright green but grayed greens or blue greens. I started in the back again using the value scale to find my next color. Even in closer landscapes - or any subject for that matter - you need to work the values and don't trust your eyes, remember: as things go into the distance they become softer and grayer and less intense in color, this is how you show depth.
Work each layer moving forward the same way getting just a bit darker and a bit more intense in color. You may have to mix colors to get what you need and in the very front of the foreground there are some important dark shadows where I used my dark indigo with a very dark green so when I put the lighter colors of the grasses in top of it they have a glow.This is my under painting for this painting. Next time we meet I will be making adjustments to what I have, adding the different kinds of cacti and bushes along with highlighting, I might be able to finish it so please try to get your painting to this point if you are following along with the project.
Keep painting and I will see you in class.
