Our local painting group, the Southern Utah Watercolor Society, sponsored a landscape workshop with artist Richard Brown. He demonstrated his unique and thorough method of designing a painting from initial sketches to the application of successive watercolor glazes.
Dick begins with a tracing paper value study, followed by a more complete value study. He then does an 8 x 10 colored pencil study to develop his color relationships. These preliminary studies along with 12 x 18 photo enlargements of his reference photos provide the road map for his finished painting. In the photo above you can see studies along with his painting in progress of the Kayenta cliffs near Ivins, Utah.
The class watches intently as Dick Brown describes his techniques.
Tracing paper value study us not a bad idea…thanks :)