In my online Open Studio recently, I've been re-inforcing the importance of the thumbnail, where detailed images are simplified into the language of value: dark, medium, and light. Yes, drawing could be involved, but I think using the edge of your medium (graphite, charcoal or pastel stick), and creating more of a block-in, is the way into seeing pattern, and the overall concept of light in your image. Spending 5 minutes on a thumbnail pays off in seeing it's potential as a composition quickly.
I chose this winter landscape, because this time of year, we are all seeing design through snow, trees and the light and shadow created. Many of my students are working on winter scenes. So last week, I did this thumbnail.
Canadian winter landscape thumbnail. Dark, medium, and light.
The thumbnail, in charcoal. I love the softtexture of charcoal that has had a finger run through it. Soft! Then I chose a warm coloured medium value paper, and a medium value cool coloured paper. I'm working 2 of them at once.
Here I chose a pallete to start with, so I'm not using too many colours at once. I applies them closely to eahc other, on the coloured surface I'm going to work on, so I can see the relationships between the colours, and how the paper plays an active part in the colour reaction.
The drawing to begin. I love working on this colour, it's very rich and makes all the other colours rich in contrast.
Here's my cool coloured paper, with the limited pallette I chose for it. Sorry, forgot to take a picture of just the drawing.
Cool Version
This is what I did in the demo: It's important to get the values eastblished as quickly as possible, with a light layer of pastel everywhere. The sooner you get the image happening, dark, medium and light, the betterm using less tooth, leaving lots left as the painting develops.
Without spending too much time on the drawing, I did spend more time with the values, creating subtle value shanges in the shadow area, and experimenting with intense and tinted hues. Serene and still mood.
The warm version. Has a very differnt effect. It seems like the sun is warm and trying to infiltrate, giving a more positive uplifting mood.
