Artist Tip

PAINTING IN MASS - Learning to Simplify - The secret to creating an illusion of light, form, space and depth depends on the artist's ability to simplify what he/she is looking at (still life set-up, model, landscape, etc.) into simple value shapes, or patterns of light and dark.

The words seem so easy and yet each day I teach, I struggle to get this idea and ultimately skill across to the painter sitting at his/her easel.  Painting a grasaille as the image above, is what painting mass looks like.  Squint down and see only values.  Limit those values to three or four.  If you can do that, you can paint anything.