Are You Doing it Right? The Values and Composition in Paintings. Raising Caring Respectful Ethical Children in Today's World

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  ©Laurie Pace       Graphics One Design 2023

Using Values and looking at a painting in Black and white.

Black, Gray and White?  Left or Right Flip?

 by Laurie Pace  

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Often when I am painting, I will do two things...  The first is to reverse the photo from left to right. There I can see all issues with balance or color.  We are all one eye dominate and that controls how we see things!  You can put a photo or painting in front of the mirror or use your iphone and then edit and flip it.  See below.

Flipping a painting left to right to check composition.

Values are a bit harder...  Taking a photo or painting into black and white with gradients allows you to see the values and balance of a piece of work. Values are lights and darks. Can you see them? Squint at it, it will help!

Using Values and looking at a painting in Black and white

Both of these processes work around your stayed vision. You have a strong dominant eye and that determines how you see the painting as is.  When you flip it, your work has been done under the control of your dominate eye.  Now you can see your mistakes.   

How does this apply in life? If you have 'values' what are they?  From our generation, which is getting older, we were taught right and wrong and there was no gray in the middle. Today that seems to be missing in many generations since.  If something is right, it is honest and pure. Taking things that are not yours but you want them... is not right.  Destroying property that is not yours... that is not right either.  There are many simple things like calling names at others, spreading untruths or lies about others, stealing from others, physically hurting others... the list seems endless. 
When I taught elementary school and middle school, I did not have a huge long list of do's and don'ts and rules. I kept everything simple with the Golden Rule taught early so we will walk in life with love. 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 

(Luke 6:31)

Or after they banned the Bible from the school it became, 

" Don't do to others that you do not want done to you. "

The "Golden Rule" appears twice more in the Bible:

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, KJV)

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”(Matthew 7:12, NIV)

How do you raise caring respectful ethical children today? It begins early in life when caregivers (Parents?) plant the seeds of caring, compassion and empathy early in the life of their children. It is the adult that nurtures the child to fundamentally get it right. Children are then able to empathize with others and take responsibility for actions and situations.  They learn to work together with others. 

Are you a good role model and mentor? Parent? Grandparent? Uncle or Aunt?  Time to step up. We now have three generations of "all about me" children with little respect or value for life of others. We need to set higher expectations.  You can look in the mirror at yourself, but you cannot see it in your own children and you certainly cannot make them turn into 'values' by using black and white and gray... you need to get busy and teach them.

Follow the Spirit of the Paint... with Laurie Pace

Laurie Pace - A Texas Artist 

             

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Laurie is an international artist, her paintings are collected in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, DuBai, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, St Thomas, Romania, Greece, Croatia, and Ecuador.  

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© Graphics One Design 2023