EBOOK DiVine SETUP 3-92

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Gray Scale & Value Finder Tool

Determining the Key of a Painting

As in music it is important to be aware of the "key" in which
you are painting. In terms of values the visual key is
determined by the relative proportion of darks, lights, and
middle tones in the painting. Again, as in music, the key has
an important impact on the emotion or mood of a painting or
photograph. The value finder can be very helpful in keeping
your key consistent.

A visual value key in painting or photography is one of the following:
High Key: 50% of the values are middle tone or lighter. Think of a portrait of a mother and
baby dressed all in white with white background.
Low Key: 50% of the values are middle tone or darker. Think of the Taos artist, E.I. Couse,
and his Indian paintings.
Middle Key: It is mostly middle tone values. The full range of values are utilized with out a
heavy emphasis on either the dark or light values. By far, most representational paintings
have a middle tone key.

"Edge of Night"
by Mike Mahon

"George" by Mike Mahon "Plaza Reál" by Mike Mahon "The Turkey Hunter"
High Key Middle Tone Key by E. I. Cause

Low Key

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Values are Relative

In this photo the value finder shows that 7
certain areas of the image vary in
intensity and hue but are equal in value. 7
Being aware of the values in the different 7
areas of the painting will help prevent
misinterpreting relative values that may
be affected by the values surrounding
them or color saturation differences.

In this example it would have been easy
to misjudge the value of the grass at the
brown horse's hoofs and make it much
lighter than the distant mountain slope
above. Even for the experienced artist, it
is difficult to see that the mountain slope
is the same value as much of the green
foliage and grass below.

In this photo the three indicated areas are
all exactly the same value 7 on the Value
Finder. The only differences were in hue
and intensity.

It would have been very easy to interpret the brighter yellow areas as much lighter than the
dull gray of the cliff. In which case, the grassy areas would have been painted much too
light or the cliff much to dark. Without using the Value Finder you might know something
was off but not know what.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Values can appear arbitrary.

A helpful way to organize your colors is to create a palette of colors broken into at lease three values
per hue. Using color swatches of pastels on a middle tone paper makes it easier to group different
hues according to their relatives.

This pastel palette groups the hues in three ranges of value,
light, middle tone, and dark. The top row is generally lighter than
the middle tone background. The middle row is approximately
middle tone. And the bottom roll is darker than the middle tone.
Using this type of palette, and painting on a middle tone
background makes it much easier to discern relative value
differences of color.

As seen with these pastel swatches, juxtaposing colors on a middle tone A
background is a useful way to judge the relative values. If the line between B
the colors disappears or is barely discernible when you squint, the values
are the same (A). If line remains no matter how much you squint, the colors
are different values (B).

This line or lack there of also defines a soft edge or hard edge respectively. You can also see which
colors are darker, lighter, or the same value as your background which is useful when attempting to
achieve a high key or low key painting.

A similar technique can be used with oil paint as well.
Create a series of 3 or 4 value steps under each hue so
that reading horizontally each step is approximately the
same value. This makes it much easier and faster to
make value judgement and match correct values on you
canvas.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Values are Relative

In the figure to the right, the circles are both exactly the
same at 30% gray. However, in the white box the gray
appears much darker than the one in the black box. This is
an optical illusion that we are all subject to, whether artist
or not.

Even if we intellectually know that the gray circles are the same value we still see them
differently.Because of this illusion it is easy to misjudge correct relative values in a image of
multiple complex values. Without using the Value Finder you may tend to paint some values
much darker or lighter than they should be. The painting my appear too harsh or contrasty
because you were fooled by the surrounding values.

This illusion can also work to your advantage.
For example, if you have painted a bright yellow
flower but it is not as light as you would like. If
you add white to lighten it, you will kill the
intensity of color.

The flowers in both images are identical.

But you can keep the saturated yellow and make it appear lighter and more intense by
painting what is around it darker as the figure above illustrates. The intensity of the yellow
flower is further enhanced by using the complementary color (violet) for the background.
This is particularly helpful when you want to

color (violet) for the background. This is particularly helpful when you want to lighten an
intense red. Using white to lighten red creates a dull pink. Adding yellow to the red will
lighten the red but it may be too orange. However, other than just using a special tube color
to get the lighter value of red, using an analogous hue like yellow is better than white if you
want to maintain the intensity.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Values are Relative

The relative nature of values can also affect the atmospheric effect of a scene. In the
images below the white highlighted areas of both are exactly the same. However, all the
other surrounding values are different. The time of day and the nature of the environment
are greatly affected by these relationships. The closer the surrounding values are to the
white light, the more subdued and even hazy is the nature of the atmosphere. As the
contrast is reduced as in figure A, the light can be easily interpreted as overcast. The high
contrast of figure B is a strong indication of a bright sunny day. It is important to maintain
the consistency of the the nature of the light and value relationships to keep faithful to the
unity of the scene.

Lightest areas are same value in both images. But the light area in "B" appears lighter Problems with color are
because it is next to darker values. almost never problems
with color. They are
AB almost always problems
with value.
(Eric Wiegardt)

"Light appears stronger as shadows are darkened, though actually the same. Therefore
we can only attain brilliancy by contrast. For high-keyed and delicate light, use a close
relationship of light to shadow. For brilliacy and force, use a four or five tone separation.
Remember, all the light and shadows must have a consistent tonal separation except
when a shadow is obviously lightened by reason of reflected light." Andrew Loomis,
"Creative Illustration", pg. 84.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Chip Off the Old Block and the 80% Rule

Abstract design is the basis of all good representational art.
It is primarily the darkest darks and secondary darks that create the abstract design of a
painting. All good representational paintings are built on strong abstract design. That is why
simplifying the reference image using thumbnails to see the basic value structure is very
important in the early stages of the painting. These darks serve as the scaffolding of the
painting. All the other values key off the darks. The range of middle and light values are
greatly affect by the darks. If in the painting process the darks become lighter all the other
values will tend to be rendered lighter. The painting will loose the "snap" of strong contrasts
and end up a flat, dull gray. Because of this care must be taken not to introduce color values
into the darks that are not in their value range. It is also important to paint the darks and
secondary darks a little bigger than they really are. This is because as your lighter values are
painting in, you will be cutting into those darks and reducing their size. Think of your darks
as the rock or wood of the sculptor. The sculptor must start with a larger block so that he
can chip at the block to reveal his creation.

The Eighty Percent rule says that eighty percent of your darks, especially your darkest darks
and secondary darks, should be touching. The closer you get to the eighty percent, the more
powerful, simple, and unified your painting will to be. This rule applies to the lights as well. If
you get eighty percent of your lightest lights and secondary lights touching that is even
better. As in the samples below, it is easier to see the darks and secondary darks by
removing the color. By creating a high contrast image the pattern of darks are even more
Iobvious. See how all those darks are actually touching. f the darks were volume instead of
paint you could pour water in at one point and it would fill all the dark areas.

"Hangin' Out" by Mike Mahon

Another benefit of the 80% rule is that it naturally creates paths for your eye to flow through
the painting. Your eye is not blocked and is more easily directed through the image.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Values can appear arbitrary.

The gray boxes in this landscape photo are all
exactly the same-fifty percent value. Focus yiour
eyes at the center of the picture. Do you notice a
perceived value difference in the boxes? Does
the box in the sky look darker than the box in the
bank of trees? The value surrounding each box
affects our perception of value.

When you first appraise a scene in terms of the fewest and
simplest values possible, you must mass or group similar
values. First find the darkest darks-then the secondary darks-
then the middle tones and then the lights and lightest lights.

Figure "D" is the way you want to see the image in your mind or as a thumbnail sketch. Think
of it as construction paper cut to shape and laid out. It's so much easier to paint these
simple flat shapes first. Three dimensional qualities with detailed shapes, values, and edges
will be developed as the painting progresses.

The irony is that the job of the artist is to reduce the thousands of values we see down to 3
to 5 values as we start the painting. It's not so much what we see as artists, but what we
edit out. That's part of our job as artists.

Massing the values is accomplished by squinting. Close your eyes
gradually so that the light is filtered by your eye lashes until you can
only discern 3 to 5 values. As you squint the color and values are
diminished so that the values are massed and more easily
identified.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

2 ValuesSecond only to design, control of values determines the quality of your

painting.

Photography - Plein Air

When taking reference photos of high
contrast scenes make three exposures. Take
one photo at normal exposure, one purposely
over exposed, and another one purposely
under exposed. Studying these three
variations will come close to duplicating what
your eye perceives. Some more advanced
digital cameras can do this automatically. On-
site sketchs with notes are also important for
recording details that the camera may miss.

To minimize camera distortion, it is advised to avoid tilting the camera up or down if
possible. If practical, find a higher or lower vantage point to capture the scene desired
rather than tilting. Avoid using telephoto and wide angle settings on your lens. When
possible keep your lens setting at or near "normal" which is a focal length between 40mm
to 58mm. The normal setting records the scene at approximately how the natural eye sees
it. Know these settings on whatever kind of camera you use.

Plein Air
Painting exclusively only from photographs tends to produce more harsh, less subtle
paintings because of their lower, more contrasty d-max. Even if you only occasionally paint
plein air (out doors), it will greatly help your perception of details that may not be obvious in
a photograph. Additionally, by painting outdoors you’ve studied a scene for hours so that
when you paint from your photograph that you took outdoors, you'll be able to interpret it
much better.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

3 ShapesThe great organization tool of the visual arts.

Organizes and Simplify

Most of us learned in grade school the basic two-dimensional shapes.
None are more basic than the square, circle, and triangle. Just as the
combinations of red, green, blue colors of the light spectrum (RGB)
can create any color of the rainbow on your TV screen, virtually any
shape can be created by the grouping of these simple shapes.

The simplicity of two-dimensional shapes makes them powerful tools in the painting
process. Their proper use organizes your work in the early stages and keeps you focused on
the "big picture" rather than caught up in distracting details. Working early in the painting to
see and organize the big shapes results in better design and avoidance of a tight over
worked, busy painting. Concentrating on simple flat shapes makes the initial drawing easier
and faster. Most of us are much too eager to get to the delicious details but focusing on a
few simple shapes helps prevent this malady. If you want a loose, spontaneous feel to your
work, using a few big simple shapes to organize the elements of your painting is essential.
Once you are further along in a painting it is very difficult to correct poor arrangements of
the big shapes.

Create no more than six shapes and try
to make your shapes interlocking like a
jigsaw puzzle.

Paint flat, one-dimensional shapes in the correct value and approximate color note.
Modeling the shapes into three dimensional images will come later and be much more
effective later in the process.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

3 ShapesThe great organization tool of the visual arts.

Avoid Monotony

Don’t be too repetitive using the same shape and size over and over unless you are
consciously using similar shapes as a unifying technique which will be discussed in the Unity
section.

Unless corrected, the default mind set for creating shapes is laziness. It is too easy paint a
collection of clouds or bushes the same size, shape and value without realizing it. Before you
know it, your painting will become monotonous and predictable. If you have a series of
similar shapes, self consciously vary them in terms of size, value, and/or hue.

The painting, "Serious Business" was dominated by
balloons that were the same shape and size. I was careful
to be sure there were a good variety of colors. To avoid
monotony none of the balloons were actually the identical
shape. Only the central yellow balloon was an uncropped
circular shape.

"Serious Business" by Mike Mahon

"Living & Breathing Water" by Mike Mahon In "Living & Breathing Water" varying the shape
an size of of the rocks was critical to maintain
visual interest and variety.

No rock in this painting is the same shape or size as another. It's very tempting to start
painting similar objects and fall into a pattern of repetitive, boring shapes.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

3 ShapesThe great organization tool of the visual arts.

6 Shapes or Less

Taking another look at this beautiful scene in 1 4 5
Taos, New Mexico, you can see that there are 8 7
shapes. This is a good example of how to 2
analyze an image in terms of shapes. A helpful
way to simplify the shapes is to cut the shapes 3
out of multi-value construction paper or imagine 6
cutting them out. This will force simplifying into
larger shapes. Notice how much more obvious
the design and shapes appear compared to the
photo.

There are still too many shapes.
The images below demonstrate how much more
powerful and unified a design is by simply
limiting the number of shapes to six.

8

These images also illustrate how by limiting and
simplifying the shapes, they more effectively interlock as
puzzle pieces accentuating the unity and interesting
variety of shapes..

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

4 EdgesHow we reproduce the sense of touch with our vision

An edge is where any two values touch.

An edge exists where two values meet. An edge can be hard soft
considered hard or soft. The higher the contrast the
harder the edge. Edges created by similar values are soft soft
soft. Hard edges may be referred to as advancing or
found edges; soft edges as receding or lost edges.
These effects reflect the fact that the higher the
contrast the more our eyes are drawn to it.

Edges are the most important factor in interpreting the overall surface quality of a form or
object, especially the texture, suppleness, coarseness, etc. *Scientific studies have
demonstrated that the eye does not give equal attention to every area in its field of view.
Again, our minds are lazy but efficient.

The eye can only focus at any given instant on an area the size of
a postage stamp or thumbnail. Hold your arm out with your thumb
up. Focus on the thumbnail. Everything else besides your
thumbnail is part of your peripheral vision.

When viewing a painting the eye jumps around from point to point and the mind constructs
the full visual image weaving together these focus points with our peripheral vision. So what
determines the points to which the eye jumps? Edges! What is important for the artist is that
the eye tends to jump from one edge to another giving little attention to the area between.
The mind uses the edge to interpret the nature of area between the edges and tends not to
see subtle gradations of value that may exist between the contrasty edges. There is no need
to be excessively concerned about the details of texture and value shifts in that intervening
space between edges.

One of the most important processes in your painting is the edge quality of the objects,
hard, soft or lost. We make a hard edge where we have the point of interest or when we
want that area of the painting to stand out... An edge is the process where two values come
together in your painting. (Van Waldron)

* "Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing", pages 52 &158. by Margaret Liningstone

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

4 EdgesHow we reproduce the sense of touch with our vision

Edge Control

Making use of how the mind processes visual
information in regard to edges aids the artist in
at least 3 ways:
1. Painting time is reduced by concentrating on edges
and simply suggesting the area between the edges
2. The painting seems more loose because excessive
details are avoided in the area between the edges
3. Edge control can direct the viewers' attention.

Receding Advancing "Snow Fox" is a good example of edges. The edge
Soft Hard created by the fox fur against the background
reveals the fluffy nature of all the fur. There is no
need to paint detailed fur texture between edges.
Ironically this same edge has a soft feel but is
actually a hard edge because not matter how much
you squint the edge is still obvious

The fact that the model's left shoulder is closer to
the viewer is accentuated by its hard (advancing)
edges. The distant left shoulder appears to recede
because of its soft edges. With just a slight squint,
the right shoulder is lost into the background.

"Snow Fox" by Mike Mahon

Take note of how the white feathers with the hard edges appear to come toward the viewer
and the feathers with soft or lost edges move away from the viewer.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

4 EdgesHow we reproduce the sense of touch with our vision

"I Got Rhythm, Who Could Ask for Anything More?"

Whether it's in landscape or portraiture painting, It's Hard Hard
important to create a rhythm with your hard and soft Soft
edges. This prevents objects from appearing flat as if Soft Hard
cut out of paper. Varying the edges from lost and found, Hard
hard and soft, advancing and receding creates a sense Soft Soft
of volume, roundness, and perspective. As you work Hard
around the edges of a subject think to yourself, "hard, Soft Hard
soft, hard, soft" varying the pressure as you make Hard
strokes with your brush or pastel.

Notice in this "Pastel Portrait" the edges of the hair,
face and neck vary so that an edge seems to be lost or
recede into the back ground and is then found as the
contrast increases.

Lost Found Lost

"Pastel Portrait" by Mike Mahon

One of the most important processes in Edge rhythm creates a sense of three
your painting is the edge quality of the dimensions as well as and an illusion of
objects, hard, soft or lost. We make a movement. Notice how a simple flat line
hard edge where we have the point of projects a sense of movement and three
interest or when we want that area of the dimensions by simply creating a rhythm of
painting to stand out... An edge is the thick and thing, lost and found edges. It does
process where two values come together not take much imagination to sense or "feel"
in your painting. (Van Waldron) a mountain range or a female profile or even
a flowing river just by the simple variations of
edges.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

4 EdgesHow we reproduce the sense of touch with our vision

Edges for Atmosphere and Finish

This painting of a fighting rooster demonstrates Hard Soft
the use of edges to create atmosphere. The
edges in the near foreground are much harder Soft
than the edges in the background. This causes Hard
the forground to advance and the back ground
to recede visually creating a sense of space and Soft
depth. A sense of atmosphere around the
rooster is accentuated by the modeling achieved
with the alternating hard and soft edges of the
silhouette.

"Stand Your Ground" by Mike Mahon

Q. When is a painting finished? A. When the edges are finished!

Concentrate on the edges in the final stage of the painting.
The eye tends to focus on edges and gives secondary
attention to the area between edges. At virtually any point in
the process you can bring a painting to a reasonable finish just
by finishing the edges.

For this live portrait demo of "Herb" I was given 2 hours to
complete it. But 30 minutes into the painting an emergency
required me to complete it in the next 15 minutes.

I immediately stopped everything else and only worked on the
edges. Because the edges are fully developed the portrait is
legitimately finished even though there is very little paint
applied in most areas. Suggesting colors and values is all that
is needed if the edges work. So little paint is applied to achieve
a finish that the subject seems almost transparent.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

5 Temperature (Color)Control color and create balance by mastering temperature

Temperature (Color)

Color is one of the most, if not the most, powerful
weapons in an artist's arsenal. But like nuclear
energy it can be very destructive or beneficial
depending on how it is used. Used with restraint and
knowledge it greatly enhances all the other aesthetic
categories. However, too often, color over powers all
other attributes of good painting.

By its very nature as an emotional tool it is very
tempting to go straight to color and ignore the more
analytical categories of design, values, shapes, etc.
Unbridled color may produce very evocative images
but when used to the exclusion or subordination of
the other aesthetic categories paintings remain at an
infantile level of expression.

The most important things in A three year old child can
painting are form and value. produce expressive, emotional
Color comes last, like a friend images on canvas or sounds on
you welcome.”― Camille Corot, the piano, but they are rarely
landscape artist appreciated by anyone except
their grandparents.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

5 Temperature (Color)Control color and create balance by mastering temperature

Temperature (Color)

Disciplined and effective painting results from
understanding the basic concepts of color
theory and coordinating with the other
aesthetic categories. Color is like a wild beast
if used without restraint. Corralled, it can be
your best friend. Look up the "Fauvism" art
movement of the 20th century.

There are great artists that have effectively
pushed the boundaries of color without losing
authentically representational and moving
paintings. Here in New Mexico are some of the
best such as Michelle Chrisman, Barbara Clark,
Leigh Gusterson, and Ed Sandoval, among
others.

"LeDoux Street Jaunt" by Mike Mahon “Nature’s Studio” by Barbara Clark





There is an abundance of information on
color theory that I will not try to duplicate "Tangerine Morning with Mauves" by Michelle Chrisman
here. I will just mention a few issues that

may help you control the use of color.

When you approach the use of color
consider value first, how dark or light it
needs to be. Then pick the general hue.
Whether you pick a hue that is true to the
subject or an "emotional" or more
expressionist color, if the value is correct
the image will "read" as authentic.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

5 Temperature (Color)Control color and create balance by mastering temperature

Standard Artist Color (Hue) Wheel

Cool Warm There are many variations of the
Tertiary color wheel but knowing the
Primary Colors= Secondary Colors= terms and understanding the
Yellow, Red, Blue Tertiary Mixture of Primaries color relationships in this
combine to produce standard wheel will resolve
all other colors. most color issues.

Tertiary Primary SecondaryTertiary Learn this wheel just as you
Analogous Colors are Tertiary Colors= would the multiplication table to
next to or near each Secondary Mixture of be a mathematician.
other on the color chart
Primary & Secondary

Tertiary Tertiary

Secondary

Complementary Colors - are directly opposite each other on the color wheel.



Saturation - refers to the level of intensity or vividness of the color.

The terms "hue" and "color" are confusing to many artists and are frequently used
interchangeably as I often do. For the artist "hue" technically refers to a pure pigment that
has no tint or shade (added white or black). "Color" is a more general term that refers to
hues as well as a hue that has been tinted or shaded. So technically the "color wheel" above
could be called a "hue" wheel because there are no color tints or shades.

Because color is so subjective and personal, I rarely criticize an artist's color choices. I have
found it more useful to concentrate on objective characteristics like color temperature.
Most people have little trouble judging color or hue. Judging temperature is much more
difficult because like value it can be very relative. Temperature refers to the warmth or
coolness of a color. Warm colors tend towards the yellow-orange area of the spectrum.
Cool colors tend towards the blue-green area. I use the word tend because the warmth or
coolness of a color is relative to the other colors around it. For example, green and blue are
both cool colors, but green is warmer than blue. So there are colors that are absolute warm
or cool, but all colors are relatively warm or cool compared to one another no matter what
side of the warm/cool line they are on.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

5 Temperature (Color)Control color and create balance by mastering temperature

Do Not Be Seduced by Color

Color is very powerful because more than the other aspects of a painting, it generates an
emotional response. Because of this it is tempting to go immediately to color and ignore
other considerations of good painting. Like a wild beast, color must be tamed or it will be
destructive rather than helpful. To tame color focus on the more objective attributes of
value and temperature. Value has already been considered, so we will consider color
temperature more closely.

You should design your paintings with an overall cool or warm temperature. An equal
balance of cool and warm not only tends to be boring, but it undermines a sense of unity.
There seems to be a natural inclination to balance visual attributes in a painting even
though we know that asymmetry is much more interesting. Therefore, a painting should be
over all cool with a warm highlight or overall warm with a cool highlight. Beside being a
better balance, it greatly benefits the sense of unity.

"Arroyo Del Luz" by Mike Mahon "Don't Fence Me In" by Mike Mahon

As seen above, in most landscapes cool "Red Sky on Winter's Eve" by Mike Mahon
color temperature, i.e., greens and blues,
tend to dominate. Warm colors should be Contrary to most landscapes, "Red Sky..." is
used asymmetrically at the center of overall warm with a cool center of interest.
interest. This contributes to a strong center The sky was actually blue in this scene but
of interest. It is your job to make what ever by painting it red, the asymmetric balance
changes are necessary to achieve a correct of color temperature and the unity were
balance between the cool and warm colors. accentuated.

When analyzing color temperature
remember to consider white as a cool.

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

5 Temperature (Color)Control color and create balance by mastering temperature

Color Mixing Tips

Mixing all three primary colors together will result in varying shades of gray. Depending
on the balance of the mixture you can achieve a perfect neutral gray, a warm grey, or a
cool gray.
If you want to lower the intensity or saturation of a color, add grey or a little of its
complement. Add enough of the complement and you will get gray.
Darken a color with black to create a shade of the origin color.
Lighten a color with white to create a tint of the original color.
Adding white or black to a color lowers the saturation of the color.
To avoid killing the saturation of colors on the warm half of the color wheel only use
yellow or lighter warm to lighten. On the cool side of the wheel only use yellow or lighter
green to lighten greens, and whites or lighter blues to lighten blues and purples.
The more yellow-organge that is in a color the warmer it is. The more blue, the cooler.
Color intensity is increased when complementary colors are juxtaposed.
White is considered a cool color.

Mixing colors to match a reference photo or plein air scene can be a real challenge. This

three step mixing procedure will save time and get better results.

1.Decide what color family the reference is closest too in hue among the primary,

secondary, or tertiary hues and place that on the palette

2. Lighten or darken that color to match the value of the reference color

3. Adjust the saturation using complementary color or grey that is the same value. Be

sure that on this last step that what ever colors to use to get the saturation color match

is the same value as what you achieved in step two. Otherwise you will have to go

through the value matching process again.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

This three step process to match color Reference Family Corrected Corrected
is a very efficient way to quickly color Color Hue Value Saturation
match. Over time your understanding to get final
of color mixing will greatly increase. to Match
Trial and error paint mixing will retard match
your progress.
Correcting Paint Complementary
Value Color

of same value

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Painting the colors, light, and feel of the Southwest

6 UnityEvery painting is its own universe.

If it doesn't hang together it will not hang at all.

Unity is the principle that describes the quality in a painting of visual relatedness so that all
its parts hang together. Perfect unity is a blank canvas so to avoid monotony there must be
a good balance of diversity. The problem of unity and diversity has been an issue among
philosophers since antiquity, but we will look at it from the perspective of the visual artist.
Following will be three strategies to strengthen unity while maintaining interesting diversity.

Reinforcement. •. Lines of Reference. *. Telling One Story

Reinforcement - Taking any element of a painting whether it is a shape, color, temperature,
texture, value, etc., and repeating it throughout the painting to create unity - its own universe.
The earlier section on temperature is one example of creating unity. Whatever element
chosen does not have to be artificial but should already exist in the scene. You only need to
subtlety repeat it without undermining the authenticity of the image.

As you can see in the photo reference for the painting,
"Suspended Animation", the strongest single shape is the
hammock which creates a dynamic "V" shape delta, flying
delta shape. So I repeated it in various shapes and sizes in
the forest, the rocks, the dress, the netting, and even in the
rooster.

I repeated the "delta" shape often
to reinforce the unity I wanted
which pulls the painting together in
its own little universe. The
repeated shapes are not
overstated but psychologically,
subliminally they create a unity in
the painting.

The changes do not have to be "Suspended Animation" by Mike Mahon
major, but reinforcement can have

a major impact on the image.


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6 UnityEvery painting is its own universe.

If it doesn't hang together it will not hang at all.

Remember this painting from the section on design? In this one I made the mistake of
having competing centers of interest. However, what did work was using the triangular
shape as a reinforcement element to create unity. The triangle shape was not a contrivance
but presented itself naturally in the photo. I just exploited what was given and repeated it
where ever possible-in the hanging clothes , the wall, even the exaggerated crock of the
woman's shoulders and arms, etc. I don't always push images in this manner, but I do
where it is possible and does not undermine the authenticity of the image.

I accentuated areas of the image with subtle
changes to reinforce the triangle shape. In fact,
there are 21 different triangle shapes in this one
painting. The idea is that you don't look at it and
say, "Oh look at all those triangles." No, you look
at it and hopefully sense that this painting
hangs together, a natural undefinable unity. It is
a consistent little universe that has a solid unity
but with pleasing diversity.

Probably the greatest example
of unity ever is Whislter's
painting of his mother. Unity is
achieved by massing of
values, simple shapes, and
monotone colors.

"Wash Daze" by Mike Mahon "Arrangement in Grey and Black" by Whistler

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6 UnityEvery painting is its own universe.

If it doesn't hang together it will not hang at all.

Lines of Reference - That principle by which the viewer's eye is led from one place to
another by the use of actual lines or shapes or other visual cues. Lines of reference and
reinforcement have much in common and usually when one of these principles is strongly
utilized the other is inevitability present.

The use of lines of reference are clearly seen in the previous examples under
"reinforcement" on the previous page and in the Spiral Design section. The function of lines
of reference is to direct the eye not only to achieve good design but to draw the elements of
the painting together. Along with a sensitive variation of hard and soft edges, lines of
reference create a rhythm and flow in the painting that simulates movement not unlike
music can do. The human mind innately looks for visual patterns which exist everywhere. As
the artist, you need only accentuate and exploit those patterns to better tell your story.

The eye naturally fines paths by following visual
cues such as edges, shapes, points, etc., that
visually link to create visual paths through the
painting. Some are indicated in these two
paintings. How many more can you find?

"Doc in Blue" by Mike Mahon "Cat B'lue" by Mike Mahon

xxx

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6 UnityEvery painting is its own universe.

If it doesn't hang together it will not hang at all.

Tell One Story - One of the most common mistakes we artists make is trying to say too
much in a painting. Think of a painting as a novel or stage play. You can only have one
leading character. Every one else in the story is a supporting character. They can be
significant in many ways but if they get too much "face time" it detracts from the story
which is about the leading man or woman. To tell a powerful, effective story you do not want
unnecessary distraction or you will weaken the production and your audience will lose
interest. The same is true with a painting. If the main subject is a barn, do not allow any
other barn to be as light, as colorful, as interesting as the barn. Do what every you have to
subdue the secondary subjects in your painting.

The painting below worked pretty After completing this painting I analyzed it using my
well but it would have been DiVine SETUP ranking. I was happy with the basic
stronger and more unified if the two design, values, shapes, temperature, and perspective.
competing area were not so evenly However, when considering the sense of unity in the
matched. work it was clear that there was a competition for my
attention between the foreground and the background.
When I cropped the image as seen below, it much
improved the situation. In both cases there is a better
asymmetric relationship between the warm and cool
colors and undisputed leading character, ie., the cool
window, and the warm yellow chamisas in the other.

If you've got more than
one story to tell, do
more paintings.

"Chamisa Window" by Mike Mahon 3





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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

Linear and Aerial Perspective

Perspective in art deals with the manner by "Timeless in San Miguel" by Mike Mahon z
which an artist attempts to create the
illusion of three dimensional space on a two Linear perspective is usually either one
dimensional surface. The two primarily point or two point perspective which refers
forms of perspective are the following: to whether there are one or two vanishing
Linear Perspective and Aerial Perspective. points in a scene. A flat field of view and
buildings usually make finding the eye level
I will limit this section to the basic linear and lines of perspective much easier, but
perspective principles that should solve 80 not always. As in the painting above,
or 90 percent of the situations you will be complex, multiple vanishing points linear
dealing with. perspective problems are best solved with
careful observation and a good
Linear perspective is usually the first thing understanding of the rules of perspective. If
we think of when perspective is mentioned creating complex scenes, there are good
but it is actually of secondary importance for books and websites that will simplify and
the painter. Linear perspective is established explain the solutions for multi level, multi
in the drawing stage and is primarily a vanishing point scenes.
mathematical thing. Except for architectural
and technical rendering, most artists need This section is limited to basic principles
only understand a few simple principles of that should solve 80 or 90 percent of the
linear perspective. situations you will be dealing with.

Perspective is to
painting what the bridle

is to the horse, the
rudder to a ship.
(Leonardo da Vinci)

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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

Everything hangs from the eye line or level.

Horizon
Line Confusion often occurs regarding the terms "eye

level" and "horizon line" which are often used
interchangeably. The reason for the confusion is that
Eye Level sometimes they refer to the same thing and

sometimes not. "Eye level" describes the actual level
at which the eye of the viewer resides in a scene. "
"Color Canopy" by Mike Mahon
"Horizon line" describes the line
where the sky meets the land or
whatever interrupts the view of the
sky. If the viewer is on a flat prairie or
the ocean, the eye level and the
horizon line are exactly the same.

But if the viewer is in the mountains or an urban
environment, these terms can be referring to very
different things.

Above is a painting from Mexico. I know the eye You always want to be conscious of
level because I took the photo. Even if I hadn't whether you’re painting above or below
taken this picture, I can determine the eye level. the eye level to avoid distorting the
As can be seen on the receding plane of the perspective. This knowledge will
rock wall on the left the lines below the eye level determine what angle that receding plane
go up towards the eye level. Any line on a should be.
receding plane above the eye level goes down
towards your eye level. As the lines created by Another technique to help determine the
the rocks get closer to the eye level, the degree eye level is to compare things that you
of angle is less and less until they are exactly know should be at your eye level. For
parallel to the eye level. wherever it's parallel. example, in this scene the woman
This is important because if you're not conscious walking is about a head shorter than me,
of the change in angles, you may start painting so just above her head should be my
the top of the doors at the wrong angle. approximate eye level.

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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

Everything hangs from the eye line or level.

Vanishing This painting, "Canyon Road Alley", was painted in plein air while I was seated
Point 1 in front of the gallery that represented me on Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New
Mexico. A careful analysis of the angles made it possible to determine the
correct vanishing points to maintain a correct linear perspective.

Vanishing Point 2

Eye Level




As a plane recedes from the viewer every line above the eye level moves
downward towards the eye level and every line below the eye level moves
upward. And all lines on the same plane recede to the same vanishing point.

"Canyon Road Alley" by Mike Mahon

Whether one or two point perspective, the first and most important thing that must be

determined is the eye level of the artist or the photographer because everything is based in

terms of linear perspective on your eye level. Not being aware of the eye level or misjudging

the eye level is one of the most common errors of the inexperienced artist.

Can you fine the lines "High Road to Taos" by Mike Mahon "Puerto Villarta Stroll" by Mike Mahon z
of one and two point "Rio Grande Gorgeous" by Mike Mahon
perspective in these When the field
of view is not a
paintings? flat surface, the

"Sweeping Shadows" by Mike Mahon perspective
becomes very
complicated.

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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

Everything hangs from the eye line or level.

Size and position perspective are derivatives of linear perspective that are based on the
same mathematical principles but are more intuitive and straight forward. Although simpler,
it is just as important to be aware of, understand, and apply them correctly. As in standard
linear perspective establishing the eye level is critical. In this scene of long horn cattle in
South Texas, the eye level is easily determined because the distant fence on this flat field is
the part of the same fence that is immediately behind me. The top of the fence is exactly
level with my head so I know that it must be my standing height of six feet.

With a little thought it is easy to see that size and position perspective are simply
applications of linear perspective. On a flat field an object can be properly place anywhere
by simply taking the know object and keeping it in the same relative relationship to the eye
level. As demonstrated in the figure on the right any calf in this scene can be place by
keeping the calf two heads below the eye level. In the scene below all of the standing cows
are approximately six feet high because they all hang from the eye level from their heads.

Size Perspective

Position Use eye level relationship as short
Perspective cut to properly place multiple
objects in a scene.

"Mint Julep Legacy" by Mike Mahon

Size Perspective - When two similar objects are of different size the larger is perceived as
being closer and the smaller as being further away..

Position Perspective - Objects that are lower in the scene appear closer and objects higher
in the scene appear further away. However this is only true below the eye level. For objects
above the eye level the exact object is true.

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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

Aerial / Atmospheric Perspective

Aerial perspective = atmosphere... As Harley Brown indicates, aerial perspective
Light, color, detail, edges and contrast is intuitive, unlike linear perspective which
weaken as they flow into the distance. was't even understood until it's "invention" in
All living creatures subliminally the fifteenth century. Perhaps for this reason
understand this. (Harley Brown) aerial perspective is so important in creating
convincing perspective.

Unlike the first five principles of the DiVine Setup, aerial perspective and unity are not
accomplished by controlling a single attribute but by how several of the prior principles are
crafted and intergraded. Therefore, perspective and unity must be considerations
throughout the entire painting process, not just as the last principle to address.

How does the
atmosphere affect our
perception of objects
as they recede into the

distance?

Value - lightens "Saffron Harvest" by Mike Mahon
Shapes - Become more indistinct and blurry
Edges - Become soft and indistinct Is this circle closer
or further away

Color Temperature - Color moves toward blue as yellow is than the two

filtered out by the atmosphere circles above?

Color Saturation - Color becomes less intense, dull, and gray Why?

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7 PerspectiveCheat Creatively to get 3 dimensions on 2 dimensional surface.

What Overpowers all other Principles of Perspective?

Now here we got a spot that is higher in the field, grayer, duller, z
softer, and indistinct. Just about every cue tells you that this thing
is further away than either one of these. It’s smaller, it's higher in
the field. everything tells you it's further away. Look what happens
when I move it there. Now where is it in a relationship to those two
things. Is it closer or further away.It's closer. It's got to be closer.
Why? It's overlapping so it's in front.

Overlap trumps everything.

Overlap is the most important principle of perspective. I want to get
all the other perspective principles correct, but in representational
art you've got to push every rule of perspective to simulate three
dimensions. To put it more crassly, you must cheat wherever you
can get away with it without undermining the integrity of the scene.
You have to push it. If it's a little blue go a lot bluer. Do whatever it
takes to create a greater dimension because you're creating an
illusion of three dimensions on a two dimension surface.

Observe the use of overlap in this section of "Saffron Harvest". I use
horizontal fields of value and color so that vertical strokes from
each field overlap the next field respectively.

Dark overlaps a light passage and the light overlaps that next dark, etc. Visually, you literally
step through the the scene. The vertical fence posts overlap several fields of value. Then the
foreground tree overlaps everything. Foreground verticals that overlap a lot the middle ground
and background are particularly effective in creating three dimensions.

Looking at the two bales of hay it is easy to assume that the bale on the left is closer because it
is bigger, more colorful, and sharper. However, a much more powerful sense of perspective
would have been achieved if a larger bale had slightly overlapped the smaller. In
representational painting, ambiguity is your enemy. When there are separate multiple objects in
a scene, remove ambiguity by moving objects achieve overlap.

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Appendix ?

Victim of My Fears

A victim of my own fears.

I had some very unpleasant experiences growing up which resulted in a severe lack of
confidence and inferiority issues. Additionally, in grade school I had a speech impediment
which with therapy was greatly improved but in spite of improvement my personal
confidence remained low.

This fear of failure was the first of two primary obstacles that held me back from pursuing
fine art for 30 years after graduation from art school.

Only my love of drawing provided relief and any feeling of self-worth. All of this contributed
to my deep seeded fear of failure.

I had two obstacles that delayed my entry into the fine art field.
My fear of failure
I did not believe I had anything worthwhile to say artistically.

But it was the overcoming of my second obstacle that gave me the resolution to conquer
my first.

In addition to the fear of failure, I feared that I didn’t have anything to say artistically that
justified even attempting a fine art career. Abstract expressionism, a rejection of
fundamental art principles, and political/philosophical upheaval were very influential in the
60's when I was in art school. Therefore, I had the belief that the calling of a true fine artist
was to make a philosophical or political statement in his art. Painting for the pure sake of
beauty was old fashioned, passé. I was a pretty clueless kid with no profound political or
philosophical convictions. I just wanted to produce beautiful paintings. Therefore, I entered
the commercial art profession that was at least on the periphery of fine art.

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Victim of My Fears

Not long after art school I became a Christian. Over time I learned that my value was not
based on what I did, but that my identity in Christ. Most importantly for my art, I discovered
a worthy message for my art. A great Christian theologian once said that the goal of a
Christian is, “to think God’s thoughts after him”. God being creator and sustainer of all
things past, present and future, means that every landscape, every human face was in His
mind first. Ephesians 1:3 What higher calling could there be than to paint those images that
had originated in the mind of God? Painting is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Being a
Christian artist did not mean putting a cross in every painting or painting Bible stories. The
beauty of His world was sufficient motivation whether Christian or otherwise. The principles
of good art are true regardless of religious convictions. End of sermon.
So I did have something worthwhile to say but would that old fear still control. began
painting occasionally
It took many years to understand my fear of failure and how it had created an internal self-
deception that was at the root of my delay of becoming a fine artist.

In my twenties, I had promised myself that I would begin painting in my thirties. In my
thirties I promised myself that I would begin in my forties and so on. When I reached my
fifties I realized that I was running out of decades and excuses. In other areas of my life, I
was not as afraid of failure because deep down I didn't identify my self-worth with being a
good businessman, for example. If I failed in business, well, that's not really who I am
anyway. Besides being a Christian, my core identity was that I was a fine artist, or was I? I
realized that I had learned to take risks and overcome fear of failure in other areas of life but
I could not risk losing my fantasy of being a fine artist. And that is what it was, a fantasy. If
not put to the test it would always be a fantasy. Finally I was honest with myself that I had
been a coward. I had to admit that I was afraid that I wasn’t good enough, and if I seriously
tried to become a fine artist, it would only prove my doubts true. And if my doubts were true
I would be nothing.

As the old saying goes, “Better to remain quiet and be thought a fool, than to speak out and
be proved a fool.” I had deceived myself into thinking that it was better be quiet artistically,
rather than risk being proved a non-artist in my mind.

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Victim of My Fears

All of the above was working its way through my life over a period of years. Even though I
was becoming more self-aware, my underlying fear of failure continued to hold me back.

This was in spite of the fact that my wife, Cynthia, kept encouraging me to follow my dream.
She even bought me a professional painting easel one Christmas to motivate me to start
painting. My sister, Sally, gave me great encouragement, but still I didn’t believe in myself.
Finally, circumstances forced my hand. My business into which I had put 30 years of work
was failing, forcing me to sell to avoid bankruptcy. It was only when I was forced that I
finally was willing to take the step to lay it all on the line to pursue my dream of being a true
fine artist. Selling my business paid my debts but left me with little else than the sale of my
home, and a rent house to finance my new career. But with the financial help of my sister
and brother-in-law, Ken & Sally, we made it through the first 3 years. I learned a great lesson.
When you are hesitant and indecisive about your dreams, few people will offer support or
encouragement but when you make a commitment and step out in faith, people are drawn
to you. People actually seek ways to support your willingness to make a radical break from
mediocrity and pursue excellence.

Since I still did not have the courage to overcome my fears, God soon provided the
circumstances that led me to take action on my dreams in spite of my fear.

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Aerial perspective = atmosphere... Light, color, detail, edges and contrast weaken as they
flow into the distance. All living creatures subliminally understand this. (Harley Brown)

For more control in achieving depth in a landscape, divide the picture into a foreground, a
middle ground and a background. Keep each of these separate with atmospheric
perspective.

For more control in achieving depth in a landscape, divide the picture into a foreground, a
middle ground and a background. Keep each of these separate with atmospheric
perspective.

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Testimonials

“...You are one of the hardest working artists I've ever known, bar none.
Not only did you
spend every minute talking us through the fine points of scaling art to fit a canvas, but you
did two paintings of your own AND spent time with each of us, from the oil neophyte to the
more advanced oil painters in the group.
All of us were most appreciative of your tact, attention to detail, and desire for us to do the
best paintings we were capable of producing in 3 days...
You don't pull your punches. If a painting has elements that are not well done, you say so,
and work with the artist to make improvements. I have been distressed in past workshops
or in critique meetings when no real critique was provided, other than the false critique of
gushy flattery...
Thank you for your encouragement and your expertise. I greatly admire
your painting AND teaching skills.” [capitalization emphasis is not mine]
Martha Wofford,
Ph. D. Dalhart, TX

“Mike, you have a great teaching persona. I think you have given me some great insights in
to how my students feel! And I think I’ve learned some good things to pass on to my
students!
Deb Wheeler, art teacher, Andrews, TX

“Being a novice, the step-by-step process has given me a solid foundation on which to
build any work in any medium that I may choose. I have learned more this week than I have
in all the other workshops I have taken this year – combined!”
Joy Russo, Hot Springs,
Ark.

“Good blend of basic art theory and practical tips. Very Supportive environment, but you
did not cut us any slack on technique/problem-solving: Rigorous on principles”
Casey
Church, Austin, Texas


“It’s much more technical and theory intensive (than other workshops). I learned a lot. Just
wish I’d had this when I was younger. I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to
improve their painting skills. It was such a privilege to attend this workshop. I received
excellent instruction in group form plus lots of individual help. Excellent teacher.”
Joyce
Ming, Lamar, Colorado.

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