"Papaya Value Study"

 

8x6", oil on canvas board

So, I had two papayas. And I'd already done a painting of them (I'll post it later), then decided to do another, but vary something. One way I do that is to change the colors but not the values. This is because of the truism in representational painting that says that it doesn't matter what color something is, as long as the value is correct.

However, I have notices a couple of things:

• Thing 1: It helps to have a good amount of the actual color of the object. So, in this case the orange color kind of grounds it.
• Thing 2: In the pale areas, you often end up with pastel colors. Yep. If you lighten red, it turns pink. Pale versions of blue, green, purple, all look pastel. 
• Thing 3: Painting this way might be a sneaky method to hide a bad composition scheme. Now, if the painting is still interesting and attractive, it might not matter.
• Thing 4: Use the B&W setting on your digital camera, and keep low standards for exactness of values.

Oh yes. My other possible name for this piece was Psychedelic Papayas. Heehee.