Value is Everything

"Fun With Shoes" Oil on Linen
20 x 20" by Randy BlasquezAvailable   $975

This week in both of my classes I set up a few new still lifes for the students to chose from. I chose my new shoes. I painted most of this in class while demonstrating my technique. It took me another couple of hours at home however, because it wasn't a simple painting and I needed some time to live with it and I took my time to add the finishing touches.
The big struggle with this painting was the value. In a painting, value is everything. You might think I am exaggerating but I am not. I always look for the value pattern, large shapes of value that are a simple design so that 4 or 5 shapes make the painting. Simplicity is another big one. I want a simple design that doesn't distract from the focal point.
These concepts in painting are the ones that every artist, seasoned or beginner, has to think about.
So, when I got home and looked at the painting the next day, it was a matter of adjusting the values until I was satisfied with them. Of course, if they had been spot on the first time around, I wouldn't need to adjust. But that rarely happens for me. Most often, I am struggling to the end with getting them right. When one large value shape changes in value (because you adjusted it), then everything else that is related to it might need an adjustment as well. It is a matter of comparing one to the other. Then, step back and look at the whole.
My studio is not so large that I can step back very far, so sometimes I will bring it downstairs and look at it. Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I'll take a photo. Just looking at it through the photo will tell me if something is off. It really works.
Another thing we are working on in class is preparation. Preparation is so, so important. I will talk about preparation in my next post.