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Michelle
Understanding Colour & Value in Painting
When we’re learning to paint, we often think that to create a sense of light, we need to push our values to the extremes—making the brightest areas as close to white as possible and the darkest areas almost black. But that’s not always necessary!
In my recent painting, I worked mostly within the mid-tone range, and yet the scene still feels full of depth, light, and warmth. Of course, it’s important to have contrast in our values even if they are slight.
If you look at the greyscale version of the painting, you’ll notice something interesting—I haven’t used pure white or pure black. Instead, I’ve let the relationships between mid-tones do most of the work.
Greyscale
Greyscale (B&W Swatches)
Take the sky, for example. The yellows and soft oranges give the impression of sunlight breaking through, but if you compare them to the greyscale version, you’ll see that they aren’t actually that light. What makes them feel bright is their contrast against the cooler blues and purples in the clouds. This warm-cool relationship helps describe the effect of sunlight without needing to push the value too far towards white.
Similarly, if you look at the rocks on the right side of the painting, I’ve increased the saturation of the colours where the light hits. That punch of warm pinks and oranges suggests warmth from the sun, even though the actual value still sits comfortably within the mid-tone range.
This is a really powerful way to create mood and energy in a painting without relying on extreme value shifts. Instead of pushing everything to its lightest and darkest, you can use temperature shifts, saturation, and careful value relationships to create a glowing, expressive effect.
Handy Tip:
Next time you’re painting, try this experiment—convert your work to greyscale (you can snap a quick photo and desaturate it on your phone). Check whether your painting still has depth and contrast without relying on pure black or white. Then, ask yourself:
- Can I use colour temperature shifts to create contrast instead of just light and dark?
- Are my warm and cool areas working together to describe the light?
- Could I increase saturation in some areas to enhance the glow of the light source?
By making these small adjustments, you’ll start to see just how much power colour holds in shaping the mood and impact of your painting.
What’s your biggest takeaway from this? Have you ever experimented with using mid-tones more in your work? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
12 thoughts on “Understanding Colour & Value in Painting”
Thanks Michelle for your thoughtful lessons. I am just a dabbler who struggles with my painting. Your info was helpful.
I’m pleased this is helpful. Thank you.
Personally, I find the greyscale technique an eye opener.It sounds strange but only then do I “see” the middle tones.The saturation colour technique is to be tried!Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
You are most welcome I hope it gives you some ideas.
I do love it when we get these little tips from you. I’ve started converting my paintings to grey scale now to check how I’m doing and it really helps with the values for me. I love your use of colours in that painting, it’s so alive and vibrant.
Thank you Rita. Turning your paintings into greyscale is a great thing to do, it can really help you see better.
Thanks Michelle!
You’re welcome Tim.
Great ideas and a great painting Michelle! I plan to try this soon! I really appreciate your suggestions and insights!
You’re welcome Dan. Let me know how you get on.
I really like the way you have manipulatrd the midtones and your use of colour. Interesting and I intend giving it a try. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you, give it a go an let me know how you get on : )