I am trying to get a better feel and understanding of contrast , shading.
And thought it might be good using just black and white for practice on these eggs and bowl.
Still struggling with this : should I go even darker ( I feel like then the white is all lost ?) or add pure white ?
Noob issues !
I appreciate any input
Annie

Comments
See what white objects actually look like. Study the actual values.
Don’t worry about your feeling white is lost… paint white things the way they actually look.
Do that enough and you’ll be comfortable with things looking as they do and painting them as they look.
PS - Maybe stain your canvas a dark shade first… maybe mid to dark gray or even black and then paint your objects
Thank You ! I will do that
Thank you very much , again.
I have a color checker and try to use it . But even then I find it challenging . I don’t get the “ color “ of white . I mixed it with pinches or blue , black , green, I tried white on its own .
I found the right shade for the shadow .
Still being too careful I think and I find working without much color really difficult , so that’s why i am doing it . I’m hoping it’ll help me get it .
I am going to check out this video you left here for me. I appreciate it ; your responses are so thoughtful and helpful .
Much thank you ,
Annie
I don’t think “ much thank you “ is a thing.
When tired , my English goes in pieces .😁
May I add, perhaps you are getting bogged down with trying to make your work "perfect" and "real" instead of experimenting to see what you can achieve?
Have you tried dividing a page or canvas into sections, putting the same picture in each square and trying different ways of playing with the values, contrasts, rounding surfaces etc.....? Cylinders are even easier than eggs for multiple experiments, then graduate from there to eggs.
Why not try with reds or blues, or greens..., not just black and white?
PS Many years ago the saying "Ta muchly" became common where I lived. It was a variation of "thank you very much". At the time, a young lad in a petrol station cleaned my windscreen for me. I said "ta muchly" to which he replied very seriously, ...."my name is not Muchly" I still laugh when I think of that!!
I haven’t tried that , no.
In my head it would be good to try black and white so I could see it clearly . To me it seemed like the most challenging one and I can see what I’m not doing .
MUCHLY😁