OIL and Acrylic VALUE CHARTS

OIL VALUE CHART

The Value Chart works better using "Canvas Paper". I searched several books in my library for ideas on how to proceed, among many the best is the sample shown in "Oil Painter's SOLUTION BOOK LANDSCAPES" by Elizabeth Tolley a North Light Publication, pages 92-93. I drew the chart on a blank sheet (pic.1) there are 7 rows and 11 columns with different hues on each, the very top row(small rectangles) contains pure color out of the tube. To make a master chart I cut out wells with a Xacto knife to create a stencil that can be used over and over to make other charts (pic.2) Then I beging the color mixing on a glass palette (pic.3) Then I mix a Mid value matching 18% grey card used in photography, row 5, then put White in one end and Black in the other end of the scale, and now comes the hard part, create a grey scale from 2 to 7 (column 12). Finally I mix color #1 with each of the other colors in 1:1 ratio and creat a new row #8, then I add white to each color to create a gradation from 7 down to 2. Before filling the well I compare it with the corresponding shade in the grey scale, and the result is shown on (pic. 4)

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ACRYLIC VALUE CHART

This sample appears on page 53 of the book "Painting the IMPRESSIONIST LANDSCAPE, Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color" by Lois Griffel and Published by WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS.

The chart shown in the book was done using Oil, I did mine in acrylic as illustrated below.

Sorry the picture did not come out very good but you'll get the idea. It has 22 rows and 8 columns.

I used all the colors in my possession. It is meant to be read in a vertical format so you have to use your imagination thinking vertically. Each row has a different pure color that coincides with the grey scale at the top and then adding white to create a gradation from column 8 to 2, but we'll use the scale from 2 to 7 only, as taught to us by Johannes Vloothuis.

OIL and ACRYLIC PALETTE in a box

I dedicated the entire month of May to do a Value chart of the oil colors that I use most often and after finishing that one I did a similar one for Acrylic. I encountered a big hurdle while mixing the paint, soon I found out that if I left the paint a long time on the palette it would dry and the next day had to replenish with fresh paint out of the tube, it really was a waist of money and precious time. There has to be a better way to do this? I asked myself, and then it clicked on me what our Master teacher, JOHANNES VLOOTHUIS, said many times over his Landscape Painting Course: "I put oil paint in an acrylic palette with a cover and put it in the freezer to preserve the medium for several weeks". WOW! my architectural brain got into action and began designing a box with a lid and came out so successful that I made a second one to use with Acrylic.
PALETTE BOX:
I already had two wooden boxes that contained pastel sticks so all I needed to do was to make a lid out of 1/8" thick finished plywood used for furniture making, I removed a non-glare glass from the frame of a watercolor painting hanging on the wall and cut it to fit inside the box, I already had the glass cutter. The box measures are: 10"x14"x 1" high and 1/4 " thick , I painted it in grey, then I put a grey sheet of Canson paper and the glass on top. I glued a 1/4" wide strip of "felt" all around  the edge of the lid to make it airtight, then I applied a 1"- wide "Velcro" strip on each side to close it tightly. You may find a similar box in a Craft store or buy the materials at Home Depot and make it yourself, do not use nails unless they are very tiny finishing nails, I would prefer to use carpenter's glue instead. I am sure that you can do it, but if you need any further info. e-mail me.
I am showing here pictures illustrating how to proceed: Picture 1; shows the box after it was painted. Pictue 2; shows how to cut the glass. Picture 3; Placing the glass inside. Picture 4; Installing the Lid. Picture 5; Box with lid down. Picture 6; Finished and ready for use.