More Value Sketches
Value sketches are such a quick and easy way to plan a painting - lights, darks. mediums - there ya go, all planned out. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not making it clear enough. Almost everyone wants to skip the sketches, or make them way too large, or way too detailed. Someone in class that ended up with a beautiful painting said, "It took me fifteen thumbnail sketches to get that." Good for her! That means she could have gone through fifteen failed paintings before she did the one she was happy with. She stuck with it and planned it out, and the thumbnail sketches really only took a few minutes.Here's my plan - I'm going to hand out paper that has several two-inch squares on it and felt tipped markers.
I do realize that the process that I find most helpful is not necessarily right for everyone. However, I do think thumbnail sketches to plan the values and composition are important. It's one of those things "if you don't know where you're going, you're not going to get there." My whole life is "I don't know where I'm going" but at least I can control my thumbnail sketches.