Commanding COLOR and Versatile VALUE.

Commanding COLOR and Versatile VALUE. Combine a still-life drawing with 12 colors (or more) of tempera tempera(tĕm`pərə), painting method in which finely ground pigment is mixed with a solidifying base such as albumen, fig sap, or thin glue. paint and you have a new kind of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed.See also: Color "wheel," contrastingpure, powerful color with tantalizing tan��ta��lize?tr.v. tan��ta��lized, tan��ta��liz��ing, tan��ta��liz��esTo excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. tints. I begin this Art I project by having my high school studentsdraw--either vertically or horizontally--on 10" x 14" railroadboards. We keep our drawings simple, lightly sketching about threeobjects. Then we lightly draw a 2-inch grid over the drawings. I then ask the class to find an area on the page which would beenhanced by the addition of an element. I remind the students that acenter of interest is not always in the middle of the page, nor is itusually at the very edge. At the chosen spot, we draw a saucer-sizedcircle over our previous lines. All of the shapes inside of this circle are then painted with 12pure, high-intensity tempera colors--the primaries, secondaries andintermediates. I require my pupils to mix their own accurateintermediates. Since more than 12 spaces probably exist in the circle,repetition of a color must occur. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , we use a single colorin Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film"color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour several places. Finally, the artists must fill in the shapes outside the circlewith a variety of tints and lowered intensities. At this point, Iintroduce white, and perhaps black, paint. I allow gray made from blackand white, with the caution that lower values may lessen the visualimpact. For example, a dark shape next to the bright circle of purecolors may contrast very little, while high values (very light colors)around the circle accentuate it. By placing the brightest colors inside the center-of-interestcircle, we utilize the design principle of emphasis. A variation thatsome students successfully employ is to use several circles, paintingpure primary colors inside one, secondaries in another and intermediatesin yet another circle. A more challenging version of this lesson is to mix all 12 colorsfrom just the three primaries, or to use the complements (rather thanblack) to lower the intensity of tints. You might substitute anothermedium for tempera paint, such as acrylics, watercolors, oil pastels orchalk pastels. Try working larger, too, for paintings with even morepunch! Assessment is based on craftsmanship, ability to follow directions,use of contrast, and complexity of design. Devoting multiple class periods to this painting is worth it, asthe powerful pales and bold brights result in a lovely learningexperience. MATERIALS * Rulers * Compasses or protractors * Railroad or illustration board * Pencils and erasers * Still-life objects * Tempera paint * Brushes * Palettes Paula Guhin teaches art at Central High School in Aberdeen, S.D.,and is a Contributing Editor for Arts & Activities.