How to Create Dramatic Paintings in a Low Key

In this post, I will discuss how you can use a low key to create very dramatic paintings. This post will follow on from my previous post which was all about painting in a high key. 

Low key paintings utilize colors the lower (darker) end of the value range. So your darks will be around black and your lights will be around the middle value range. 

In my previous post about high key paintings, I featured some extremely colorful artworks which seemed to almost glimmer. The paintings I will feature in this post below are in stark contrast. 

They are mostly dramatic and gloomy paintings. 

A low key can be great for painting scenes at night, during a storm or interior scenes. The difficulty of painting in a low key is that black can tend to take over your painting if you are not careful. All your details may end up getting lost in the shadows. 

Also, if there is any glare on your painting, then your darks can end up looking weak and washed out. 

When painting in a low key, an effective technique can be to use small bursts of light color to act as powerful accents. This is demonstrated in the painting below by Childe Hassam. This sharp contrast is a great way to create the illusion of light with your paints. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of the paintings below. My particular favorites are by Edgar Degas of the dancers. He uses dark greens to dramatic effect.  Let me know your favorite painting in the comments. 

Want to Learn More?

You might be interested in my Painting Academy course. I’ll walk you through the time-tested fundamentals of painting. It’s perfect for absolute beginner to intermediate painters.

Thanks for Reading!

I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it helpful. Feel free to share it with friends.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

Draw Paint Academy

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