BeckerArt FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter June 15th, High Key

Published: Tue, 06/15/21

Hello

Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter #317, High Key

I'm so excited to get back to teaching all of you in-person with a live class! Many of you have signed up for my workshops around the country this year and I thank you so so much! Hopefully, the workshop venues that closed will reopen by the end of this year and next year it will be back to traveling back to those great workshop venues. This year is starting to fill up nicely with some venues online but many are going back to in-person learning, so I hope to see you soon!

This week I talk about painting in a high key value pattern style. Like last week's vignette-style I don't paint many high key paintings, but when they are done right they can be the most beautiful paintings.

Today the 15th of June at 6 pm CST I will be demonstrating 2 paintings with acrylics on 2 different surfaces for the Duluth Art Institute to give you a sample of what to expect in my watermedia classes that will happen July 10th and 11th at The Duluth Art Institute. Go HERE for tonight's LIVE video
To sign up for my classes at the DAI GO HERE FOR CLASS REGISTRATION

On June 25th and 26th I also have a 2-day watermedia workshop in Minocqua, WI with the Lakeland Art league Everything is supplied for this workshop so you just bring yourself and be ready to learn.
INFO HERE for REGISTRATION

Yes to Class at the Civic Center in Libertyville June 17th 1pm to 3:30pm

Yes to Class at The Studio in McHenry June 19th 9am to 11:30am

Email me at Beckerart@gmail.com for any info you may need about my classes or workshops.

I totally recommend watercolorist watch tonight's demonstration on how to use acrylics like watercolors. Ever since I started using acrylics it has improved my watercolor paintings and if you watch tonight I will explain what and how it has improved my watercolors. Click ad above to take you to the YouTube Video or HERE

HIGH KEY PAINTINGS

This week's newsletter goes into explaining what a high key painting is and how to create a painting with a high key-value pattern.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a painting that I believe to be the best high-key painting I have ever seen. The painting is pictured above of the cat. It reminded me that one does not have to use really dark values to create really light lights in a painting. It's possible to make it look really sunny in a painting using values in most of the painting no darker than a #4 or 5 Value, (see value chart below for what a #4 or 5 value is)

To create a high-key painting you need to use light value colors in 90% or so of your painting and you save about 10% of the really dark values for the center of interest or area of interest like I call the area that is most important in the painting.

The area of interest in the cat painting above is the face and the most important part is the eye. The eye even has a value of a #10 darkness. You can also have a secondary interest in the painting but you need to make sure that it doesn't have a lot of dark values in it so that the high key values work for the rest of the painting. If you add even a small amount of darkness into the large area of light values you ruin the look of the light lights in that value... you have to stay in the large area of light values and not have anything above the #4 value so that #4 value reads as the large dark area. The large dark area of the cat and the background are about a #4 value and because there is nothing darker in those areas it makes the white lights pop even without having to put a really dark value next to the white.

This kind of high key-value pattern is really hard to do because you can't go past that light value when painting, it's easy said than done. I think in all my paintings I have probably only done about 2 high-key paintings that have worked out. That said, this Thursday in my YouTube paint-a-long I will we will be attempting a high-key painting. We have to give it a try so we can learn how to do it!

let's do this!
David

BeckerArt Live in Person WORKSHOPS and DEMOS of 2021

ONLINE DEMONSTRATION Duluth Art Institute, YouTube June15th INFO HERE

WORKSHOP Lakeland Art league, Minocqua, WI, Acrylics, MN June 25th - 26th INFO HERE

WORKSHOP Dillman's, Lac Du Flambeau, W/C, Wisconsin, June 28th - July 1st INFO HERE

WORKSHOP Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, Acrylics, MN July 10th -11th INFO HERE

WORKSHOP Thousand Island Arts Center, W/C, Clayton NY Aug 10,11,12 INFO HERE

MINI WORKSHOP Plein Air Grand Marais, Grand Marais MN. Sept. 15th INFO HERE

Product of the Week

This is a self healing cutting mat. Yu can use this mat with the cutting tool that was in this newsletter last week.

BUY HERE

Artist of the Week

Andreas W Gortan Saw this artist on Instagram and really like how simple he keeps his watercolors

FREE BeckerArt Paint-a-long High Key painting

Click here on Thursday June 17th at 6:30pm CST

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/davidrbeckerart

Paint-a-long on YouTube by CLICKING HERE

CLICK HERE FOR LARGER PAINT-A-LONG IMAGE

If you want to show your work to my goal achieving Facebook group
Sign-up HERE

BECKERART DAILY PAINTINGS

Original Watercolor Paintings
Daily paintings are available for purchase, on sale ~~$150~~ now $90 dollars, order on my website.
The sales of these original paintings will help me keep my art business going.
Thank you in advance if you purchase one!
Click HERE to buy my original daily painting below or there are 100s of others

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For those wishing to send a donation you can do it to:
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For any other info please email me at david@davidrbecker.com