Got some smaller canvas boards to do small studies on… b&w #3 was a train-wreck, and I decided to pull back from it and do a smaller study. This one is 5″ x 7″, and the easel setup is there too… small value palette clamped to the easel, which I really like, with a scrap of cardboard above for wiping brushes on, and my ultramarine/sienna gradient-by-value test board.
A five-value poster study has limited use, but it reads well from a distance, which proves (needlessly) that getting values correct is the most important thing of all when trying to render realistically. If a piece looks good from across the room, it can be made to look good up close with careful work; if it doesn’t, no amount of careful work will save it.