Color and Value in Painting

Dot Turnipseed Svendson is a master teacher of color and values.  While studying 

under Dot, I learned the true importance of values.  Dot stated that 80% of painting is

correct if value is correct. She opened my eyes to the need to place my darks first 

in a painting and then add the lights and to always keep your colors clean and your

values correct. We spent a lot of time mixing colors and comparing values and these

exercises were invaluable.   Another major lesson I learned from Dot was that there are

usually 4 planes to a painting:  (1)  the sky is the lightest, (2) the ground is next in

value (3) slanted objects next value and (4) uprights are the darkest.  During Plein Air 

Painting, Dot encouraged us to write down what we were feeling when we found a

scene so that we would remember when completing our painting.  For instance, was

it a grey day, sunny, warm,  did we feel peaceful, etc. and try and incorporate our 

feeling into our painting.  Dot referenced Carlsons Guide to Landscape Painting by 

John F. Carlson.  In his book, Mr. Carlson states “We have heard a great deal about

“simplicity” and “elimination” about “design” in painting, but we have heard little

about the how or why of it all.  It is easy to say to a student, “see nature simply” but

that means nothing to him. It is a difficult task to explain logically why or how he should

see it simply.  It is not a question of helping him to paint it simply, but rather one of 

helping him see it simply.  If he sees it simply, he will readily find a way of painting

it simply.”  Dot “sees” the painting simply and is able to tell a story without overloading 

the viewer with details.  I find that when I study with someone as great as 

this teacher I do not always come home with a finished painting but I use the opportunity 

to experiment, learn and listen  to her critiques and then I try to incorporate what I

have learned into future paintings. 

I attached an example of the four planes here that I did in the workshop.  I apologize that 

the quality is not very good but she stated it was a good example. 

You can find Dot's website here:

 http://dotturnipseedsvendson.com/about.html

 

Learning How to Paint

I started out at the University of North Alabama years ago as an art major but somehow 
left that first love and became a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner.  In the last 10 years I
have gone back to my first love and have spent time trying to grow and become a better artist.
My goal is to be able to paint every day.  That is not happening at this point as I continue to
be employed as a Perinatal Clinical Specialist and that job keeps me on the road (or in the air)
most of the week.   I do try and visit art galleries in each city I visit if the time allows and I
find this a very wonderful educational experience.  I have also had the privilege to study with
some amazing artists over the years who have influenced me in so many ways and I feel
like I have gleaned a certain thing or two from each one.  My goal here is to try and record
the top  take-aways from each one.  

I am very fortunate to live in a very artsy community on Lake Martin in Alabama.  Each year
the Sarah Carlisle Towery Art Colony hosts a 5 day event where the attending artists can 
attend classes with one of the visiting instructors.  You can find information regarding 
the Art Colony here http://alartcolony.org/   One of the first artists I studied with at The Colony
was Randy Moberg.   (You can find many of his paintings in   J. Alexander’s restaurants.)
Randy is amazing. On his website you will find this comment that truly describes his work:   

 "I express ideas using colors and shapes to create images 

that cannot be otherwise described".  

His style opened my eyes to Impressionism in a new way and freedom in painting. 
His paintings were very large and when I walked up close to them, I saw only patches of 
color and light, as I moved back across the room I saw Jazz Players and Portraits and
Scenes .  This sparked something in me that I fell in love with – the ability to allow the
paint to speak without being so “tight and structured”. I also recognized that he had a gift.  
I watched him work and he never seemed to have a plan (maybe he did in his head) but I 
saw him throw color on the canvas and walk back and assess it and it seemed he waited
for the canvas and paint to tell him what he was painting.    I really did not paint anything in
his class that I feel worthy of showing here.  It seems I am so focused on learning new 
things in each workshop that I tend to "experiment" during class and then try and incorporate
what I have learned in future paintings.  However, I feel like my experience in

his workshop created a new journey for me. 

 You can check out his paintings at http://randymoberg.com/