Michael Chesley Johnson - Four Values

In my outdoor workshops, I teach John F. Carlson's concept of rendering the landscape in four values. Typically, the darkest darks will be uprights, such as trees; the mid-darks will be slanted surfaces, such as hills; the mid-lights will be flat surfaces, such as meadows; and the lightest lights will be in the sky.

I ran into a situation the other day that exemplified this concept almost perfectly. Rather than slanted surfaces as the mid-darks, I had a distant, befogged treeline. The value of the treeline is close to that of the meadow, but still a bit lighter. You can see clearly how I've broken up the landscape into big, simple shapes and have kept my four values well-separated.



"So Quiet" - Michael Chesley Johnson
9x12, oil, en plein air
$175 (unframed) + $5 shipping

www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com

Last Snow

Vince Fazio 9x12 Oil on canvas panal SOLD
This painting was painted on a ground color of cadmium orange, the color has a way of glowing through the whole painting. I enjoy experimenting with different ground colors or underpaintings usually a very strong warm or cool.