My previous article was all about learning to look for shapes (not things), and how a handful of larger shapes provide the underlying structure of a painting. As long as shapes retain their integrity, the painting will work and we can do whatever we like with the paint itself. This shift in mind-set to creating a jigsaw of shapes composed of washes and brushmarks, is the foundation of loose painting and comprises the definition of painterly watercolours.
We also touched on tonal values, since they are directly related to shapes. In this article I want to explore tonal values more deeply. Not only what they are and what to look for, but also how they provide us with a fantastically simple watercolour process for any subject. This process, combined with painting shapes, acts as a launch pad for loosening up our watercolours.
Most of my past students will roll their eyes every time they hear the phrase ‘shape and tone’, but I (and most other artists) are always harping on about them because understanding tonal values is absolutely crucial, whatever your experience level, whatever the subject and style of painting, and when combined with shapes are the gateway to that elusive loose style.
If we think of composition, the arrangement of shapes, and the shapes themselves, as the foundations and the building blocks of painting, then we can say that tonal values are the cement or the glue that holds them all together. They are literally how we see the world and our subject, providing light and shadow, form, depth, atmosphere, mood and much more.
Better still, whilst tonal values are one of what I call the four primary principles of watercolour – and if I was really put on the spot, potentially the most important one – tonecomplicated. Understanding tonal values can be surprisingly straightforward. It is a combination of how we observe our subject, and then the physical process of translating this into a painting.
