Adding Values

So I went to see Catherine C. Martin, NC legacy artist and expressionist painter extraordinaire in her beautiful studio in Apex, NC which I have given the title of most adorable downtown in the world. I mean, it was almost the setting of “Three Billboards” film by famed playwright Martin McDonough for gosh sakes. (He is the Veep’s FAVORITE!)

So this is the main street in Apex where Catherine C. Martin’s studio The Red Canvas is located. So cute right? Parking is FREE.

I was dropping off some artwork and picking up a piece in which I had gotten some clients interested-they wanted to try it on approval for Labor Day weekend.

I was dropping off “Spring Awakening.” Catherine was glad and said she would like to work on the piece. “It has too many medium values,” she mourned, and looked at the piece through red lens glasses.

This is me with Catherine C. Martin at The Red Canvas.

I said “So many people loved this piece but I haven’t sold it. You are aren’t going to paint over it completely are you?” I asked. “No, but look through these glasses and I will tell you what I mean.”

: “Spring Awakening” as it appears-

: The medium values in this painting make it almost monochromatic through the red lens.

“Now look at this painting,” Catherine said. She motioned to “Down the Path, Slowly,” the piece I was picking up for clients.

: “Down the Path, Slowly” through the red lens has light, medium, and dark values, which is what you want-

: “Down the Path, Slowly” as it appears. This is how Catherine creates such depth in her paintings.

Using this tool to make sure she has the values in her work that she wants, Catherine creates strong compositions and paintings that draw the viewer in, entranced by her deep landscapes, beckoned to have a seat in her interiors, and longing to know more about her figurative subjects.