For my Value As Theme project, I did an oil painting still life. I painted it from life, not someone else’s photograph or my own, which usually makes it harder for me to put the piece in perspective and create an interesting composition. Before starting the painting, I penciled in an armature. This helped me place the objects in the still life in a way that gave it some movement. In terms of using value, I focused on sharp/lost edges--some that were sharpened due to light, and some that faded out in the darker values. I thought of the objects as different shades assigned to different regions instead of what they were. Letting the darkest darks and the lightest lights be the most important, noticeable parts of the painting instead of fine detail really made the painting value-themed.