Do you want to paint better in 2020?

Is that your resolution?

Well, you are not alone.  Whether you are a part time beginner or a full time pro some things are universal.  Deep down we all want to paint better.

Today I want to share one of my new tools and a useful tip that will get your new year off to a great start.

The Tool:
My 24 x 30 inch glass palette broke recently.  I had painted hundreds of paintings from it so it was really past its prime.  Years of scraping and cleaning left it scratched and pitted.

The untempered replacement glass cost about $13 from the hardware store.  This time I painted a nine step value scale on the back side using painters tape and cheap bottles of black and white acrylic paint. Since it was untempered I had to be very careful not to break the glass throughout the process.

Now I can place spots of color right on top of the value scale to test the value.  No more holding the palette knife or brush up to the painting and guessing.

The Tip:

Color is composed of hue, value and chroma. We typically name colors according to the hue component: red, green, yellow, brown, grey. That is how we are taught and how we are wired. But colors are actually the hue in the context of a certain value.

I Utilize this new palette to follow a two step process when choosing a color.

Step one – Name the hue of the color.

Step two – Name the value of the color by placing it in the correct value space.

Safety tip -If you do this yourself keep in mind that you will constantly be working with a large sheet of sharp and dangerous glass. Safety is paramount.

What if there was just one thing you could learn today that would allow you to paint the way you always wanted? That is my goal for all of the information I share with you in these newsletters. The truth is we usually need several “just one things” that build over time, eventually leading to revolutions in our work. I have had several of those a-ha moments over the years. They were hard fought battles at the easel, on the computer and through interaction with artists I admire and trust. I want to share that knowledge with you here.

Written by Tim Breaux.  To see more about Tim, visit his website at www.timbreaux.com.

For a copy of his free e-book on value and color, go to:

https://mavenmethodtraining.lpages.co/secret-language-to-painting-art-that-sells/