Value Studies

For my novices: values= the darkness/lightness of a color.  I haven't been painting too much the past month, but I've been thinking about it a lot.  Specifically, how can I improve my paintings?  I've been working on stronger value patterns and harmonious color schemes for a while now.  The next 2 paintings showcase the latest change in my process.  Instead of working off of my own sketches of value studies, my reference is the black and white photo of my subject, which I convert to b&w and the tweak with basic photo editing software (Picasa)- nothing fancy.  It's been a great way to make sure my darks are dark enough. The more I read about painting- no matter what medium- the color really doesn't matter much as long as the value is right.  The other advantage to working from the black and white photo is that the colors in the painting are essentially my imagination.  And I love purple so much- I think it will be in all of my paintings from now on.  So voila! 2 masterpieces for you.