Demonstration Paintings Step by Step

I focused this class on learning to see the lights in nature. I have learned over the years that we really see objects that are light against dark, rather than dark against light. The objects we see first in the landscape are the ones that are recieving light when viewed against a darker background. In this demonstration I showed the students how to analyze what you see, then work up a simple value study to determine the positive and negative shapes.



Above: First I begin with a pencil study to determine lights and darks



Above: Detail of the finished watercolor study. Notice how we see the edges clearly because of the contrast between light and dark. It is the main way we see shapes in nature.