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VALUE STRATEGIES with Susan Webb Tregay NWS Value strategies are the design backbone of a strong painting. Because of their success, some have been used and reused throughout art history . Normally, while I start a painting with one in mind, I make a final choice about half way through the painting. Then I actually force the painting to conform to one strategy or another. The closer I can make a painting adapt to that strategy, the stronger the painting will be in the end. While there seem to be a limited number of color strategies, wonderful, new value/design strategies keep catching to my attention. This course will supply artists with two dozen strategies. Using these they will start a"flip book" and begin finding examples of each strategy. Students have called these flip books their art bibles. They have given them the tools to get into their first exhibitions–and even into AWS. After using mine for years, I still find that I use if for every painting. Artists will be asked to apply a design strategy to an existing, unfinished painting, and then to plan a painting around one strategy that particularly appeals to them. This two-day course may be combined with the two-day Color Strategy course for a comprehensive study of "Unify It," Step 4 from my book Master Disaster: 5 Ways to Rescue Desperate Watercolors [North Light Publications, 2007].

Daily Lesson and Work Day 1–morning What are Value/Design Strategies? Find examples of Strategies and begin a "flip book" (Class will need 4 x 6, spiral bound notebooks with recipe cards in them, art magazines to cut up, scissors and a glue stick.)	Demos, Slides, Discussions and Handouts Handout (24 examples to cut and paste in "flip book") SLIDES (OR DVD) and ACTUAL PAINTINGS: identifying value/design strategies. DISCUSSION: What is content? (Handout) How can design/value strategies help develop content. HOMEWORK: read Louise Cadillac article
Day 1–afternoon Continue work on ‘flip book." Apply a design strategy to an unfinished painting. Add Elements and Principles handout to your flip book.	DISCUSSION: Louise Cadillac article DEMO: Applying a design strategy to an unfinished painting. DISCUSSION: Elements and Principles of Design (handout)
Day 2 –morning How to create a painting using a design strategy. Trying different strategies on the same image, and choosing the best. Begin a painting	DEMO: trying out strategies. DEMO: begin a painting.
Day 2 –afternoon Finish the painting Evaluate it.	LUNCH DISCUSSION: writing an artist statement (handout) DEMO: Finish the painting while others work. DISCUSSION: Critiquing your painting, how I do it, how others do it, critique your neighbor's. (handouts)

All of my courses are basic to the arts. They apply to any media, and any non-smelly media is welcome in the classes. Acrylic painters should bring alcohol (91%) and/or Windex to class. Since traveling light is always the best way to go these days, organizations are responsible for supplying the copies of handouts. Master copies can be mailed ahead of time, if necessary. With small groups (10 -12 people), it is possible to have one on one time with the instructor in a two-day workshop. In these 15 minute intervals I can review recent work or answer questions. Students have told me that these conferences are an extremely important part of my workshops. For more information, contact me at susan@tregay.com.