Color gets all the credit, but value does all the work. It is unclear who was the first to say this. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn these wise words have been shared for centuries. Nevertheless, I have been challenging them for years, proving and re-proving them to myself.
The first time I really put this to the test was in a challenge set by a fellow art quilter in my critique group. She had taken a photograph of the Coliseum. The photograph was blown up and divided into three vertical slices. Each of us were to make our panel with the intent that the three would be hung together. Guess who opted to do her panel by value versus a more literal interpretation? That was in 2002. Would you believe this quilt was selected for the Tactile Architecture exhibit at International Quilt Festival in Houston? We were over the moon.
The next time I experimented with value was with First Snow. I posed the question, what would happen if you shifted value simultaneously across a canvass both horizontally and diagonally. This lead to a series of black and white value studies with color thrown in.
Now, I’m back at it with Rainbow Aura. I just can’t resist playing with easing from one value to the next. No black and white here, but the deep navy and royal blue rings let the lighter values glow.
I am linking up with Nina Marie’s Off the Wall Fridays.
