![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUhJ09BDtYzjaWP2WgYNMmU_XvDNzie5MEf9elymihZM2_W-Wd9HZKBc0re8w8sc_JJahhZL0kKq177yDD_FgablB293ig4usoRGDFfFHFK2y5yMiMsG14uXzgINjl-4DClJGa9nYPQ06/s320/OffTheRimBW.jpg)
"Off the Rim" in black and white
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOTvruvgVpP4UBsF6qBrHdKI2PVbItUvKfNU6f8omW-cEgWFdoBignnQEigBl-qaO7SvCEEYN2vGvzVogG7GMRp3Yup-cIfF787KILjoPcRKxwTueLfXhKGvsHh_ifzy1P2-_HqadeRKn/s400/PrimariesMixed2BW.jpg)
black and white version of mixing the same value as yellow from the tube
I really enjoy doing value studies, whether in paint or as a sketch. I think it's a lot harder to translate those values into color though. Take a look at "Off the Rim" above. I was surprised to see the red bowl and blue background have almost the same value after I photoshopped the image of the painting into black and white. In the color version, the blue seems much lighter to me. So I decided to try and improve my ability to see the values in patches of color with the above exercise. Give it a try and see if you find it as challenging as I did: paint a swatch of cad yellow straight from the tube. Then try and mix a gray, red, and blue to match the value of the yellow. It took me a couple of tries to get the red and blue light enough (above is my second try). I've added a value finder to each image above to make it easier to see.
The above swatches were painted in gouache and scanned.
Bobbi-what a great approach, I must try this. You're right-it is such a challenge to translate the values to color. Thanks for sharing this idea.
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