Rowland Hilder writes on the meaning of tone and on seeing the subject in terms of simple tone areas, in the first of three articles written for The Artist in 1965.

'Is there a secret that, if disclosed, will enable the beginner to paint a good picture?' asks Rowland Hilder. 'One that can be simply formulated, like giving a recipe for making a cake? Perhaps not. Nevertheless, there is a secret – an open secret – one which the beginner often seems to resist. The ‘secret’, by far the most essential piece of equipment to the professional artist is conveyed in one magic word TONE.

What is tone?

At first, it appears simply as a term used to denote a relative degree of lightness and darkness – but to the artist it is a generic term, conveying many meanings. It means co-ordination and control of tone values, simplicity of tone, economy of expression by tone, the ability to see reality in terms of tone – and much more. Understanding of the use of tone is the biggest single key to the understanding of painting technique.

At the risk of sounding dogmatic, I will attempt in this first article to set out some basic exercises, which I sincerely hope will help the beginner to comprehend the principles involved in the use of tone in relation to watercolour painting.

The object of the exercises below is to take the student right back to the first basic principles, and to explore the possibilities of painting a picture in simple areas of flat monochrome.

For this one needs: lamp black watercolour, Indian ink, brushes and paper. Stout, or even moderately heavy cartridge paper would serve for the first experiments – the scale need not be large.

Tone test

Diagram one

Diagram two

Next try to paint a watercolour wash that is just a degree lighter than the black.

As the wash will dry lighter, I would be very surprised if anyone were to succeed in making the wash dark enough at the first attempt. One has, in fact, to mix what appears to be a jet black wash before anything like the required depth is achieved.

Having established the next to the darkest tone, one should then proceed to paint the next tone a degree lighter still, mixing a fresh wash in a separate dish.

Four distinct tones

One should aim at producing at least four distinct tones, ranging between the black and the white; also to have four mixed washes in separate dishes, ready for painting the first experimental picture.

Before beginning, it is essential to select a subject that can be rendered in simple flat tone areas.

Having done this, view the subject with the object of deciding which is the lightest tone. It may now help at this point to map out some of the tone areas faintly in pencil outline – particularly the area to remain white.

One must now estimate the central tone key, as the next wash will establish the relative depth of subsequent washes.

One can now proceed to take the first wash right over the whole picture area (excluding the white area already mapped).

In diagram two (above), the background wash is just deep enough to show up the area of glistening water. The key, having been set, one can proceed to paint the intervening tones.

Be direct

One of the basic and essential qualities of watercolour is directness of statement. To achieve this, one must aim at establishing the correct depth of wash the first time.

One should avoid having to go over washes to increase depth; also one should avoid the temptation to touch up, or niggle in an effort to achieve a sense of ‘finish’ or ‘realism’. Let the tones, by their correctness of intensity, convey a sense of ordered reality. The trees in diagram two are indicated simply as tone shapes.

Some basic rules

It will now become apparent that there are certain basic rules to the technique of painting by tone values.

For example: light tones appear to recede into the distance, and darker tones to come forward; this follows a basic principle in nature.

In diagram one (above), the nearest building was painted in solid black; the more distant buildings are made to appear to recede into the distance by the use of lighter – or receding – tones.

This principle is called ‘aerial perspective’.

It is fascinating to look at the work of the masters of watercolour, and to see the use they make of this principle. One has the feeling that they select the kind of subject that naturally responds to watercolour treatment.

Further principles of tone

Let us now return to consider further the principle of the tone key.

Each picture should be set in the key which best conveys its mood. Just as one can play a tune on the high notes, or an octive or two down the scale – so one can paint a picture in a high, medium or low key.

To illustrate this: let us suppose that one has taken a photo of a view; standing on a hillside there is a white house and a black barn, seen against a toned sky.

In making a print, we can of course vary the exposure, creating a light, medium or deep-toned picture. If we make a light print, the house would of course appear white – so would the sky; the barn appears as a deep grey. Thus in the light-toned scheme, we do not get the impression of the actual scene, where the house stands out white against the toned sky.

If we then make a darker print (or lower the tone key) the house will remain white, the sky will take on tone and the barn will now appear black.

Clearly, the lower tone scheme better conveys the feeling of the subject. If we were to make a darker print still, the picture would take on the appearance of having been taken in the late evening.

Diagram three


Diagram four

Most beginners are inclined to set their pictures in too high a key – or to paint without thought of a co-ordinated tone scheme at all.

On walking round The Prado, where extensive copying was in progress, I was impressed by the fact that in almost every case, the copies were set in a higher key tone than the original.

Art students, on the other hand, when they discover the principle of painting by tone values, are inclined to set the key absurdly low.

Sickert tells an amusing story of his first visit to Degas, who viewed the younger man’s work and said, ‘But everything happens at night!’

Claude Mirror

Many painters carry a Claude mirror, a principle I can thoroughly recommend.

A Claude mirror can be made simply by applying black paint to a sheet of glass. The effect is to give a reflection of reality in a low key, at the same time reducing the range of tones – thus bringing the scene nearer to the limitations imposed on the painter by the nature of his materials. (We must remember that we have nothing lighter than our white paper for conveying the impression of the brightest light.)

Sunglasses for tone?

I have heard of one instructor who advocates the use of dark sunglasses as an aid to the understanding of tone.

He recommends viewing through as many as four thicknesses of glass in the first instance, in order to place the lightest tone, removing one thickness at a time thereafter, to establish subsequent degrees of depth.

As an aid to the beginner, to help gain understanding of the principles of painting by tone – this device is perhaps not as silly as it sounds.

Tone and colour

Whatever the means – the important objective is to gain understanding of the process of painting and of seeing in terms of tone values, and to make for co-ordinated tone control, as a prelude to embarking on the road to the control and keying of colour.

One can have a tone without colour, in the sense that one can have a picture in monochrome, but one cannot have a colour that is not at the same time a tone.

In the next instalment we will consider colour in relation to tone.

This article by Rowland Hilder is taken from volume sixty eight of The Artist which covers September 1964 - February 1965

Click here to read part 2 of Rowland Hilder's article on Qualities of the Watercolour Medium

Click here to read the concluding part of Rowland Hilder's article on Qualities of the Watercolour Medium

Click here to read an article by Rowland Hilder on Painting skies in watercolour