Six, Three-Value, "Stage" Patterns: When beginning a painting it often helps to work out a small, preliminary sketch similar to those shown above. Such a sketch may be referred to as a value pattern, or value study, or a shape pattern, or even a compositional sketch. Regardless of the name applied, we are first trying to nail down some interesting, basic, descriptive shapes on which to base our composition. Next, we want to apply simplified values to those shapes in order to further clarify and strengthen the composition. In the six examples shown above, we use three shape sizes ... a small shape, a medium shape and a large shape. We can almost think of these as three "stage settings," one overlapping plane in front of another. We might refer to this as the fore-ground, middle-ground, and back-ground. Each of the three shapes is then assigned one of three basic values ... a light value, a medium value or a dark value. It's helpful to remember these are simplified shapes and simplified values. Of course in the completed painting, other shapes, details and values may be visible within any of the broad, simplified areas we've selected. However, if we work to keep the basic value range close - within our three main shapes - the preliminary "pattern" will not be broken. This will certainly help strengthen the final composition. Try it! "Yesterday it worked. Today it is not working. Art is like that." - Unknown Go to Next Page