This project focused on tonal analysis. The exercises were quite technical but I enjoyed them a lot because there was still so much space to realize my own ideas, and I felt more and more comfortable with the medium.

Exercise: From light to dark the watercolour way

The task was to practice building up intense tones of a dark colour by painting layers into a grid of 10 small squares. I did this with the five colours of my new artist quality watercolours because I thought it would help me getting to know the colours better. My selection consists of Winsor Yellow, Winsor Red, Burnt Sienna (a warm, medium brown tone), French Ultramarine, Hooker’s Green and Payne’s gray. I made one grid for each of these colours, except yellow.

It was quite difficult to anticipate the right amount of colour mix I would need, and to mix the colours in an appropriate intensity – not too weak and not too concentrated. I guess this needs a bit more practice. I was surprised by the brown tone which is much lighter than I thought when I selected this colour for my palette. I think I would like to add a darker brown tone. But maybe this will not be necessary if I learn how to obtain darker tones through mixing.

By contrast, the green tone was quite intense. I had noticed this in the studies I made for the previous exercise, and this task confirmed the observation that this is a rather dark green. I could have done a lighter mix, this would probably have resulted in a smoother gradation from light to dark. I liked the exercise, it’s interesting to see how the colour intensity gradually builds up.

Exercise: Tones from a single layer

The task: Arrange max. 5 simple objects and do a tonal study with pencil in the sketchbook, indicating different tonal values with numbers if you like. Then sketch the outlines on A3 or A4 watercolour paper and paint a monochrome study with pre-mixed colours of different tonal values.

I chose some white pottery objects because I found the variation in white tones interesting. I placed them onto a dark flat table andI used a grey cardboard mat as a background. I enjoyed drawing the arrangement and taking the time to analyse tonal values, although I felt very unsure whether I had classified them correctly.

Then I proceeded to the painting. I began with what I thought was a very pale tone to indicate the lightest areas – the light reflexes on the objects. The darkest areas were the contour shades of the bowl and the salt and pepper dispensers. I painted the grey cardboard background with an intermediate tone. Then the remainder of the painting consists in attempts to vary between these tones, but this wasn’t very successful, I’m afraid.

Not sure whether the problem was the colour (Payne’s gray) or that I used a brush that was too large, but somehow I obtained almost no variation in tonal values, neither towards the dark nor towards the lighter tones. The tonal variation I obtained is more the result of irregular loads of colour on the brush, instead of different pre-mixed base tones. I think I will follow my tutor’s advice to repeat an exercise if I’m not satisfied. It’s really a learning process and I think I need practice to adapt the technique to the experiences I’m making.

Second attempt: more contrast

In the second study, I reduced the number of tonal areas and the number of tones. This time, I decided to leave the lightest areas as white and mixed a really dark tone for the darkest areas, then an intermediate gray for the mid tones. I achieved stronger contrasts in this painting and the different tones are better distinguishable.

I think the darkest and the second-darkest tone are too close together, the tone for the table became too dark. Another problem is to cover large areas with an even wash: I used a smaller brush this time because I had difficulties controlling the amount of water with the big brush in the first study. Now the problem was that the smaller brush did not hold enough colour to cover the larger areas of dark colour… The solution will be to use a brush adapted to the size of the area that I want to cover… funny how I seem to prefer using only a single brush rather than changing the brush while working on a single painting to accommodate the task at hand.

The second study represents an improvement, but I think I’ve overdone the contrasts a bit. The first one was pale but the subtlety also has a nice quality in it. Probably the best where is somewhere in between – not too much, but enough contrast. It’s quite tempting to do a third one and see whether I can do this. There’s not enough daylight anymore, I will have to do it with a lamp or wait until tomorrow.

Third attempt: somewhere in between

This will be the last try for now! I’m quite satisfied this time, contrasts are not so extreme but objects are recognizable. Brushwork still needs improvement and I’m far from really mastering tonal values at first attempt, but the tones are closer to what I intended to do than in the first two studies.
I think it would be a good idea for me to use a separate tryout sheet to test the colour that is on the brush, before applying it to the drawing. This would give me the opportunity to correct the tone, reduce water or whatever I think is necessary, rather than commiting everything directly.

Exercise: Tones in several layers

The task was to paint another monochrome study with the objects and in the same colour as in the previous exercise, but this time another positioning and/or viewpoint on the objects and building up colour intensity in layers, rather than mixing the right colour in advance.

I had some difficulties deciding on the arrangement, probably my good intentions for the last exercise led to a feeling of saturation with the objects… but finally I found an arrangement I liked. It was in a portrait format and I also changed my viewing position slightly. I took some time to work out a tonal study in pencil, probably invested more effort than task instructions would have demanded, but I was in the mood for fine analysis and preferred to work out the tones rather than just loosely indicating them.

This probably helped with the subsequent painting. I felt much more at ease with this technique than with the previous exercise. Being allowed to paint in layers is much more forgiving. The result is quite successful for the tonal values, I think. But there are two drawbacks of the method.

The first is that it did not permit to paint tonal gradations within an area and the demarcation lines I drew between tonal areas look artificial. The other is that the overall impression of the study is much more static, less vivid than the previous ones. I think this is because the colour areas become very uniform from multiple layering. There is less room for chance effects and the painting has lost a bit of the charme the earlier studies had.

It may have to do with me making too many layers. Maybe with more practice, less layers are required to obtain the desired tone and then the painting would retain its freshness.