Art Adventures - by Patricia Banks©
Published April 2023 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Mag
Published April 2023 in Nanaimo Magazine and Voyager Mag
“All paintings are about light” I’ve heard. Describing your subject in terms of light can be daunting for any artist. So, what does this mean for a painter, exactly? It all starts with a good understanding of the characteristics of light: such as value, colour, shadows, reflected light, outdoor, and indoor light. Knowing what to observe is the trick! For that, there are many reference books, videos, and courses one could use. Simply directly observing and analyzing the effects that light has on a variety of subjects works too.
That sounds easy, right? Let’s briefly look at one of the most important aspects – value. Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Value is also considered an important element of composition. Getting the value of a colour ‘right’ using a value scale – a graded scale of grays from black to white – is not as easy as it might seem. When comparing value with colour, we are often fooled by the inherent nature of colour as it dazzles our eyes. As with everything, a lot of practice discerning values helps. The tonal distribution of light and dark can also make or break a painting. It can turn a flat two-dimensional painting into a three-dimensional vision filled with shape, depth, space, and atmosphere. It is the contrast between light, medium, and dark values that creates the illusion of light on a subject and hence the ‘reality’ or ‘flatness’ of a subject.
The best way to see value is to temporarily ignore the myriad of visual information – colours, shapes, and textures, and concentrate only on the light and dark. It is helpful to ‘squint’ one’s eyes, which has the effect of blurring the details. Painting requires unending problem solving, astute observation, and lots of practice. When you find joy in painting, problems become challenges and challenges become fun! Happy Painting!
That sounds easy, right? Let’s briefly look at one of the most important aspects – value. Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Value is also considered an important element of composition. Getting the value of a colour ‘right’ using a value scale – a graded scale of grays from black to white – is not as easy as it might seem. When comparing value with colour, we are often fooled by the inherent nature of colour as it dazzles our eyes. As with everything, a lot of practice discerning values helps. The tonal distribution of light and dark can also make or break a painting. It can turn a flat two-dimensional painting into a three-dimensional vision filled with shape, depth, space, and atmosphere. It is the contrast between light, medium, and dark values that creates the illusion of light on a subject and hence the ‘reality’ or ‘flatness’ of a subject.
The best way to see value is to temporarily ignore the myriad of visual information – colours, shapes, and textures, and concentrate only on the light and dark. It is helpful to ‘squint’ one’s eyes, which has the effect of blurring the details. Painting requires unending problem solving, astute observation, and lots of practice. When you find joy in painting, problems become challenges and challenges become fun! Happy Painting!
