Graphing for Tonal Painting

This is a photo that I found online for my student to paint.  I can't give the proper credit because I didn't record the name of the photographer.

Because it's such a complex scene with so many details I decided to use graphing to start the painting as a tonal painting.  Here are the steps I used beginning with a black and white photo of the scene.

I put a wash of raw sienna on the canvas.

I put masking tape around the edges to remind me not to paint all the way to the edge.

 I measured and painted a graph the size of the painting that was roughly in thirds.

Next, I placed a piece of transparent plastic (old sheets for use with an overhead projector) on top of the black and white copy of the photograph.  I measured and drew a graph roughly in thirds onto the transparent plastic with a Magic Marker.

Then, with the transparent plastic graph on top of the B & W copy, I selected a segment with which to begin. I chose the uppermost left-hand segment.

Upper left-hand segment on B & W copy.

Upper left-hand segment on canvas.

Using black, white, and greys, I painted the tones of the upper left-hand segment that I wanted to include in my painting. 

Nearly completed tonal painting.

Tonal Painting