Lately, I have been looking at a  great deal of artwork, and I am noticing that the light values in some artists' work is chalky looking or not realistic. While some of this is intended, I am certain that the undesirable results many are seeing is because use of white in many of the oils and acrylics is misunderstood. If you  want to see examples of this problem, simply begin to peruse paintings on the internet. You will see a lot of good work, but you will also see examples of "death by white" - chalky unrealistic lights and flesh tones.

 Much has been made about being cautious with the use of black in paintings, but I have seldom if ever seen the use of white addressed. Perhaps it is my background as a transparent watercolorist, where white is rarely used, that helps me see the problems inherent in white. White is a very dangerous color, and if not used judiciously it will quickly overpower and ruin a painting.

 I will be addressing this issue more in depth in my January 2008 email newsletter, so if you are an artist and would like some tips on getting light  values without overusing white, or if you are just interested, subscribe to my newsletter  now. If you miss this newsletter, you can email me and request it after you subscribe. You may also email me at misty@mistybeauchamp.com and send me your mailing address, and I will send you a printed version. Please know that I do not sell, trade, or otherwise distribute my email address list or my regular mail address list to anyone. This list is maintained strictly for my collectors and interested people to keep up with what I am doing, and to get information about art techniques.