Gray Scale and Shades

Well today I though we could show the gray scale if done right there should be 10 shades of gray.

The most important one is the middle tones, most of us who paint on canvas use a gray middle tone, on boards I use a burnt sienna or medium tone.

The colors I show here, or hue, is a straight Red. By adding white I get a Tint, by adding black I get a shade.

In watercolors I use Payne's gray for my black. I could use something called Lamp Black but the Payne's gray works for me so why change.

The Middle age dye makers used a black in their tapestry to accent other colors. They saw that it made each color stronger and bolder, next time you are where you can see an old tapestry check it out. You will notice the black is beside the color and it pops that color.  As art progressed thru the ages people (artist) began to see they could use colors to define shapes and spaces.