some still life info for TAD

the above image is a 2-value notan composition for the below still life.  Using notan is a helpful means for working out a composition. the notan can be done on a small scale in pencil in a sketch book, as a thumbnail for a larger piece.  It helps to layout the shapes of light and dark, and to see objects as they are surrounded in their environment - not just necessarily as objects separate from their surroundings

here is the finished painting

this is a 3-value notan for the below still life painting.  this set-up is a bit more challenging in terms of determining what direction to push a value into to keep within the 3 values.

and this painting, though unfinished, shows how the form can be pulled from the graphic notan layout, while keeping true to the composition of the initial thumbnail.