Creating Values Through Color Temperatures

As an artist, sometimes I want to branch out and try new things just to learn new techniques while playing around. My goal for this piece was to use light values to create a piece that is white on white (in this case a urinal with a tile background) using color temperature to give form and to defamiliarize myself with the app Artrage Vitae. I used the flat oil brush on this pinkish background, and I painted the grout lines first so that I could blend them into the tile for a softer look.

Once all of the tiles had been painted (notice the color shift from top to bottom) I moved onto the metal assembly on top. I needed to use dark and midtones to create a convincing metal surface. As a watercolor artist, I have a habit of softening my strokes as I go, but it is important to create clean lines with high contrast if you want it to look like metal. Remember: paint what you see, not what you think you see.

Once it was time to work on the bowl, I used warmer whites to bring the urinal forward. I repainted the inside of the bowl several times; it was so difficult to get the value and temperature I wanted. I painted with curved strokes since this is a rounded surface. Don’t forget to add the grout reflections.

I finished this up by painting some of the tubing in a cooler color than the basin but a warmer color than the tile and reworking the inside of the bowl again.

Now the most frequent question I’ve been asked: why? I chose this subject because of the white-on-white challenge as well as the combination of right angles and rounded edges.

This was painted using the flat (square) oil brush in ArtRage Vitae.