Watercolor value study

3 Watercolor value exercises to help you improve the quality of your paintings. One of the biggest factors that differentiates a novice and an experienced watercolor artist is the translation of values in their work. An experienced watercolor artist knows how to portray values accurately. In this article you'll find 3 value exercises to help you improve.

A value study helps artists establish a strong composition. By simplifying the scene into basic light and dark shapes, artists can identify the focal points and create a sense of balance within the painting. Learn more on this from Andy Evansen! -->

Watercolor Painting Value Study - Rod Essex - YouTube

An excerpt from Ron Hazell's "The Artist's Guide to Painting Water in Watercolor," on creating a value study.

But I recently used it for one of my art journaling sessions and rediscovered how soothing and accessible watercolor painting is.

These value studies were made to explore different compositions. I use neutral tint watercolor on beautiful watercolor paper. I believe these studies are works of art in their own rights. I paint full size paintings from these studies.

Andy Evansen · Massing/ simplifying shapes and figures. As always, values first.

It appears that I enjoy the beginning of things, as here I am again at the beginning. I was enjoying the application of color onto paper and allowing the color to swirl in and out of each other doing what color does. At that point, I was unaware that I knew nothing about how colors react with one another or did so instinctively, but never gave it any thought. At times, when lucky, I can command the backgrounds of my pieces and find a feeling of calm and peace within that structure. The…