Painting 101 :

Painting the light you see

by Tissa Hewavitarane

There is a big difference between going out to paint what you see and going out to paint the light you see. Light comes in many forms. Light has colour and differing intensities; it can be direct or reflected; it can define local colour, obscure local colour and a local colour. Becoming acutely aware of specific lighting conditions can make you a better painter. Before you begin to paint, take time to observer the colour, intensity and other qualities of the light. Wait for a sunny day. Then grab your easel and head for a suitable painting spot, not too complicated, not so simple that it doesn't allow for a challenge. It will also help, for at least the first attempt, if the subject matter is light in value. White objects are particularly good because they make it easy to see the patterns of light and shade. Position yourself where you view of the subject provides a clear pattern of sunlit surfaces and shaded areas.

Designing with light

The idea of 'designing with light' is not offered as 'the best' or only approach. It is an approach which works. Sunlight is powerful. It can make a black roof appear white and white objects look black. By seeking patterns of light and shade we are freed from the object single light source, the sun there is most often a rhythmical connected pattern of both the light and shade. By moving slowly around a potential subject and observing the shapes created by the light and shade, you can find the pattern that is most interesting. Your relative position to the object and the light source changes not only the pattern but also the effect.

Simplify what you see

Begin the process of simplifying your painting by seeing shapes and not things. Instead of taking the approach of seeing a collection of individual objects a house, a car, two trees, squint your eyes and see only two shapes. Shape one will be everything that is in sunlight. Shape one will be everything that is in sunlight. Shape two is made up of everything that is in shadow. You have now simplified numerous objects in two identifiable shapes.

Caution

As you begin to draw you must proceed with caution, for if you revert to old habits and draw each objects, rather than two shapes, you will have negated the very essence of your new approach. Your pencil lines should follow the edge of light and shade. The resulting drawing will be a rather strange looking pattern of abstract shapes that should be generous in size. Frud from the constraints of painting many objects, you can now execute a more spontaneous expression of your feelings. Begin with the idea that what is in light will be left as white paper. You are now faced with but one shape to paint - the shape of shade. Paint the shape as a abstract pattern. Don't allow yourself to be overly influenced by local colour. Begin at one end of the shape and paint to the other. One approach is to first wet the entire area of this shape and drop in colours. Take this opportunity to experiment.

Success

To achieve success in painting, most students need to change their concepts while forsaking old habits. If you would like to become a par or a better painter, stop thinking about brushes, pigments, paper, how to hold your brush, how to draw a house, and start thinking about shape and colour.

The significance of light

Traditional painters usually look at light in one of two ways. The light of the sun and the light above us, which is the sky. The basic light on a subject comes from two sources, the main light and the light of the sky. The main light is directly influenced by the sun or an electrical bulb. On a average sunny day the sunlight naturally takes on a warm colouration. On a clear day, the colour of the sky touches all the top planes and is seen everywhere in a painting. Snow being white shows the effect of the sun but also on the flat planes, as they recede into the distance. The cool light of the sky may touch everything that is not directly affected by the light of the sun. When we talk about an object moving away in the light, we refer to the amount of atmosphere between the viewer and the sunlit object and the distance between the source of light (a spotlight)and the object it influences.

The term "turning from the light" on the other hand, is applicable primarily two curved surfaces exposed to light. The sun comes up and lightens the sky. With luminous light it illuminates the earth's surface. Depending on the nature of the day, reflected light can be either a very important part of your picture or a quite negligible one. The strong light of a clear day, for example, reflects colour into everything. Notice the painting shown here is based on light caught in one instant with strong light and dark tones.

Transparent glazes are applied to build depth of tone. The real challenge of light is that it is always moving around and changing as the sun becomes lower in the sky. The eye goes to trees along the road and main parts of the painting travels around from object to object. The eye is always drawn to striking colours and their inclusion can turn an ordinary subject to a brilliant painting. The technical richness of this medium is such that one of the most interesting techniques that it has is precisely the opening of space. On the other hand there is a sharp value contrasts. The shadows are shown in light colour to begin with. In addition, we are looking into the light of the sunlit road. As a result, the mid tones and darks are all below the middle with just a few warm lights high. As you keep on practising you will gain knowledge why water colour is a perfect medium for catching effects of light.

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