From The Shadows

It would be a huge understatement to say that I am enjoying doing 4-value paintings. I am having an absolute blast. Likely, I will do a few more. After that I might tweak it a bit and go for a color other than gray. The gray scale and value finder is turning out to be an invaluable tool.

Here is the start of my new painting. Even with only one color (really two, if you count the background), the cat emerges especially when viewed from a distance.

Here is the finished painting. I like these dark backgrounds, where the cat is emerging from the shadows. This cat, Dorian, has a very level and intense way of looking at me and this technique captures that.

Dorian in 4-values - 8" x 8" - on paper - alternative blue

It's just shocking to me how so little can convey so much, especially with the eyes. When I look at the left eye of the first one that I painted and this one, I can't believe how a few small paint strokes can read so well. I also think these paintings are helping my eyes. For example when I was mixing the second lightest color, I "guessed" with my eyes before checking it with the gray scale and value finder. Hurrah, it confirmed for me that I was pretty close to the value that I wanted. That is one of the reasons that I would like to extend this experiment using colors other than gray.