• I hope you can join us tomorrow (Sunday, October 23rd) for our monthly CHAT on YouTube at 2 p.m. Eastern (Check your time zone.) We'll be continuing the discussion from today's topic in this weekly post. To join us go to
https://youtube.com/inthestudioartinstruction Our seasons are changing. Here in the States, we're moving from summer to fall to winter. Here in our area, we went from wearing shorts one day to our winter coats the next. That is quite a contrast! Nature is masterful at using contrast. CONTRAST AS A TOOL for PAINTINGAnd so are masterful painters! One of the major tools we have available to us as painters is the tool of contrasting. Too often contrast is referred to as a principle, but in my mind, it is much more than just a principle. It's something we are constantly doing in our paintings, so how can it be just a
principle? A tool is something we use to make something happen. And the success with which that happens depends upon how competent we are with the tool. Here's an example of
how inadequate contrasting of value can cause an inferior painting. But with contrasting the value adequately and using varying degrees, the painting gives a richer experience. Dianne Mize Moth Ascending Watercolor on Paper
HAMMERS, SAWS, SCREWDRIVERSAmong the builder's tools are hammers, saws, screwdrivers and an assortment of other tools, each having a role to play, independently and supportive. In the painter's toolbox, there are six contrasting tools, also playing independent and supportive roles. Value is only one of them, though a very important one. • That without contrasting direction, there
would be no shape? • That without contrasting value, there would be no visible image? • That without contrasting texture you couldn't see foliage? • That
without contrasting size, you couldn't see distance? • That without contrasting shape you couldn't distinguish a person from a beanbag? • That color contrasts in three different ways? Who says contrast is not a tool! Enjoy a fun weekend contrasting! During my Language of Painting series, I explained the role of our visual elements. If you'd like to review those roles to better understand the behavior of elements, here are the links to each of those
discussions: Color --Value -- Shape -- Texture -- Size -- Line and Direction
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