Plein-Air Painting Tip: Grouping Tonal Values

For both beginners and experienced painters, a key to composition is to organize values or tones into a light group and a dark group. Using a limited palette of gouache and watercolors, James Gurney demos a plein-air painting of a house in Sebastopol, California, explaining his approach to technique and compositional design. WATERCOLOR AND GOUACHE SUPPLIES (M. Graham) Yellow ochre watercolor: (M. Graham) Transparent red oxide watercolor: (M. Graham) Titanium white gouache: (Royal Talens) Black gouache: OTHER MATERIALS James is using a Pentalic watercolor sketchbook: Jeanette is using a Stillman and Birn sketchbook: and an Escoda Reserva #6 Kolinsky Richeson travel brush set: Richeson “Grey Matters” brush set: Connoisseur “cat’s tongue“ brush: Water cup: