Checking out the Value Viewer App

At the Oil Painters of America meeting last spring, I met artist Lori Putnam (whose work, BTW, is fabulous and light-filled) - she and her husband Mark have developed an IPhone app called the Value Viewer. It is a tool designed to assist artists in composition, allowing both gray-scale and notan options. The gray-scale option lets the user consider different compositional patterns by the collapsing and redistribution of light and dark values in a given scene; the notan option forces all into shapes into black and white without middle values.

So, equipped with some brand new hiking sneakers - which I bought to augment my pretty much non-existing plein-air wardrobe*, preparing for Dave Santillanes's plein air workshop in Sedona - and my phone, here are some pics and what I played with...

First, the vertical shot...

 Then a horizontal pic:

Here is the Notan (B/W) version:

 I have a LOT to learn about how to use this app, but I think it is fun, and should be a good adjunct to the classic and always reliable pencil thumbnail sketch.

My little walk didn't include a trail, but I could see where I wanted to get, so a little bit of baby bushwhacking let me cross the creek and here was the reward:)

This was in the same Prescott area as the hike I took with my bridge buddies a few weeks ago..I am including this video just because it reminds me of a very funny and fun excursion. Thanks to Suzanne for
 your funny video:)

*I think that this might be a fashion joke, ie the notion of plein-air wardrobe, but it will require much more research on my part - I'll get back to you on that . And a PS, Lori is teaching in Sedona the same days as my workshop with Dave - wish I could attend both:)