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The Black & White to Color Challenge
posted by Belinda Del Pesco on Saturday Jul 30, 2011
To Submit an Entry, click here to sign in,
or click here to quickly register.
For this challenge, use the black and white window photo posted here. Drag the full size version to your desktop. (It's grainy, but that's good, because you won't be tempted to focus on details over values.) The challenge is to paint a color version of this image - in any color harmonies you'd like, but keep the values accurate.

For folks new to values, we're referring to the gradation between dark, mid-range, and light shades in a value scale. We've all seen and/or practiced values in black and white drawings and monochrome paintings, but translating value from black and white to full color demands a little practice (and a lot of squinting). Many new painters use color in their work, with not enough attention paid to values. For this exercise, use the black and white photo as a value map, and paint a color version of the same scene, squinting frequently to ensure the darkest areas in your painting match the darkest areas of the photo, and your mid-ranges are in sync with the mid-range values the photo, and your lightest lights are where the same bright spots are in the reference photo.

This value exercise gives you lots of room to play - both with your color choices, and loose & painterly vs tightly rendered representation. When you're almost finished with your painting, snap a photo of your work, and use imaging software to check it in black and white. Compare the monochrome photo of your painting to the reference photo, and this will help you see if your values are accurate. Make adjustments on your painting where necessary, and scan or photograph your finished results to post on the DPW Challenge page. We look forward to seeing the full color posts of your work!

Challenge Entries

The Daily Paintworks Challenge

To bid in an auction, click here to sign in,
or click here to register (it is quick and free).

Payment is through PayPal

All payments for winning bids will be made through PayPal directly into the artist's PayPal account. You do not have to have a PayPal account to pay for artwork. PayPal offers the option to pay instead with a credit card.

How to Bid

To view and bid in the auction of any painting in this Fundraising Challenge, simply click on the painting's thumbnail, and then click the Bid in the DPW Auction link in the popup that opens.

The Artist's Donation

Each participating artist has agreed to donate 100% of the proceeds of the sale, minus the shipping costs. Details on how your payment will be donated can be found in each painting's description on the painting's auction page. If it is not, please feel free to contact the artist by clicking the Email the Artist link on the painting's auction page.

Any tax benefit from the donation goes to the artist, since they are making the donation.

If You are the Winning Bidder

While DPW manages the fundraiser and the auctions, the actual purchase is directly between you and the artist. If you are the winning bidder at the end of an auction, you will receive an email with instructions on how to pay the artist by PayPal. You can also go to your my Auctions page and click the PayPal button to pay.

DPW will charge no fees in this fundraiser, however PayPal will charge the artist their normal processing fee.

Thank you for your kind patronage and generosity.

Ask David at DPW a Question

The Daily Paintworks Challenge

To Submit an Entry, click here to sign in,
or click here to quickly register.

Submitting to a DPW Challenge is quick and easy.

There are no deadlines, and you can submit to any challenge as many times as you want.

All entries must comply with the letter and the spirit of the challenge and must have been painted after the challenge's posting date.

When you click the Submit to the Challenge! button on the challenge page, simply fill out the dialog form that appears. After a quick spam screening, your submission will be posted on this page and available for other artists and potential buyers to see. Best of all, you don't have to sign up for anything and there are no fees or commissions.

Ask David at DPW a Question

Please be sure to follow the spirit and the letter of the challenge.
For example, each submission must be painted after the challenge is posted.

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