Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge: June Challenge: "High Key"

Thursday, July 1, 2021

June Challenge: "High Key"

What is a 'high key' painting? A painting where the darkest colors are MID VALUE. That means a middle tone between light and dark. So the painting has an overall light feeling.

"Summer Whimsey", 9x12 mixed media on 140 lb watercolor paper

by Kelley Carey MacDonald

This was done in an Intuitive manner. Many layers, some opaque, some transparent, with marks made by graphite and colored pencil. Photographing a high key painting is tough, because the camera emphasizes the darkest darks and the lightest lights. Let me just tell you those are mid tone orange marks on the lower left and the centers of the pink flowers are much lighter than that!

“Color is Key” 9” x 12” Acrylic by Victoria Chesley Brega

“ One of the day lilies resurrected from a former garden that was plowed under by the last owner of my new place, flourishing with just a little relocation and TLC…”

"Indian Head River" 5"x7" oil on wood block panel by Margaret Farrell Bruno

We are having unusually warm steamy days locally, more like August weather, and that atmosphere is perfect for high key paintings. This was a fun exercise to limit my values to 0%-50% on the gray scale.

“Pam’s Muffins” 5x7 watercolor and ink by Mary Sheehan Winn

Our recent “Painting Safari” took place at the Scituate home of our own “Hostess with the Mostest”, Pamela, who baked us delicious berry muffins and in her usual fabulous style, set them up in a picturesque still life in her front garden. I set up my camp chair in the shade and did this sketch.

I had to tilt the tabletop slightly because it was at eye level, and I incorporated the windows which were not visible from my angle. Sometimes it’s nice to invent a scene out of different components.