18 PASTEL PAGES MAGGIE PRICE

Q. I cant see value; I just see color. How can I

learn to see value?
A. Learning to see value is one of the most impor-
tant things you can do, since a clear value struc-
ture is the basis of every good painting.
One of the great advantages in using pastel is
the fact that you can reach for the correct value,
rather than having to mix it. But how you organize
your pastels is key to fnding the right value.
If you organize your pastels by hue, such as reds
in one area, blues in another, and so on, you will
tend to think color before value. Youll look at your
subject and think, I need a blue here, and reach
for the blue section. Then you must make a value
decision, and with all those blues to choose from, it
can be easy to select the wrong value.
But if you organize your pastels by value, your
selection process is entirely different. Youll look
at your subject and think, I need a medium light
value here, and when you reach into the section
for that value, you can then make a color decision,
knowing the value is correct.
Organizing your pastels by value will teach
you how to recognize value as you rearrange your
sticks. Once they are arranged properly, you will
become more confdent of the value of each stick
when you select it, use it, and you replace it in
your storage area.
The most common value charts show 10 value
steps, with value 10 being a pure white, progress-
ing in steps to value 1, a pure black. If you have
10 sections in your pastel storage box or trays, you
may use a 10-step system. However, I think six val-
ues are suffcient to clarify your selection process.
Create six divisions: the darkest dark, medium
dark and lightest dark, and the darkest light,
medium light and lightest light. Within each divi-
sion, arrange your pastels by temperature, from
cool colors on the left, for example, to warm colors
on the right.
Youve probably heard art instructors say,
when you dont have the right color, choose the
right value. I take this a step further and say,
when you dont have the right color, choose the
right value and temperature.
But, if you have trouble distinguishing value,
how will you arrange your pastels correctly?
Here is a simple system for identifying values.
Take a piece of good quality white drawing or
pastel paper, and pick out six pastels that you
think will best represent the six value steps out-
lined above. Make a swatch of each on the paper,
so that each color touches the next. Squint at the
result. If you can see a division between each, you
have a separation of values. If they tend to blur
together, then they are too close to the same value.
(See illustration.)
Continue to select values as necessary until you
get your six distinct values. These will be the base
values for rearranging your pastels.
At this point you may want to have a separate
piece of paper for each value. Make a good sized
swatch of color using the base value on each.
Then as you pick up each stick to sort into the new
arrangement, test it next to the base values. If the
Arranging Pastels by Value
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE PASTEL JOURNAL, AUGUST 2006
from the Pastel Pages e-book
available at www.MaggiePriceArt.com
19 PASTEL PAGES MAGGIE PRICE
new color swatch and the base value appear to
blend together when you squint at them, then you
have the same value. If they separate, that color
belongs in a different value group.
Using a six-value system means you will hve to
make some decisions and compromises. The eye
can perceive more than six or ten values, but its
impractical to arrange your pastels with too many
divisions. So you will have to make decisions as
to whether a particular stick belongs more in, for
example, the medium-dark category rather than
the darkest dark.
Temperature is sometimes easy to see; red,
for example, is obviously warm, but what about
green? A blue-green may be cool, while a yel-
low-green appears warm. You can make these
kinds of decisions as you sort out your pastels, but
keep in mind that temperature is often relative to
surrounding colors when youre painting. A blue-
green may be cool next to a red, but appear warm
next to a pure blue.
This project may seem like a lot of work, but
as you sort through all your pastels, you will fnd
the decision-making becomes easier as you gain
confdence in identifying values at a glance. Main-
taining the system over time will become second
nature, and youll spot a pastel out of its value
place in a second. As you learn to automatically
reach for the right value and temperature when
youre painting, youll fnd the organization gives
you a new freedom in painting with pastel.
Select 6 values from your pastels, from the darkest dark to the lightest
light, excluding pure while and pure black. These can be any colors,
so long as their values are correct. These will be the base values for
organizing your pastels by value.
When you squint at the left-hand pair of two colors, it is obvious
they are not close in value. When you squint at the pair on the right,
the division between them blurs, which tells you they are close in
value.
This set of pastels is organized by value in six sections from the
darkest dark pastels on the left to the lightest lights on the right.
In each section, cooler colors are generally towards the bottom and
warmer colors towards the top.