Shadows in a painting help build a composition

by Tissa Hewavitarane

Shadows are often regarded as a necessary evil to be stuck at the end of a picture, without much thought and with even less observation. In a sunny landscape they are an important part of the picture. Strong light that you try to portray is impossible without strong contrasting shadows. They are also useful in indicating the form and texture of the surface.

Imagine the shadow of a tree falling across a smooth road. It might show a curve to indicate the contour of the road but if it's cast over a rough cart track with a hedge at the side, the shadow would go up and down each rut of the track, change direction completely as it hit the hedge and then show the shape of the hedge at a glance by the way it fell.

Finally, shadows can be used to help build or strengthen a composition. You can, for example, put one completely across the base of a painting to frame and contrast with a well lit centre of interest. Of course, because they are dark, shadows are prone to get muddy. Then it's the usual tale of two or three coats of paint to get the right strength of tone. This is caused by timidity and indecision.

Crimson

The best way to put in a shadow is to first observe very carefully where the shadow comes from and how it changes direction as it goes over the various contours it covers, so that your plan of attack is rehearsed before you take up your brush. It is something that no more than about one in ten students would do properly.

The next stage is to mix a good shadow colour, be it warm or cool. My own favourite mixtures are alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, light red paynes grey, and hookers green. It is important that you mix enough paint before you start putting the shadows. It would be hopeless if you run out of colour half way through a shadow. Try it out for strength first on a piece of scrap paper. Nothing looks worse than an opaque or over-worked shadow. If it's left transparent, it will show the other colours through it as it crosses, for example, a cream path or a green lawn.

Reflected light is associated with shadows but is often ignored or unnoticed when painting a hot sunny scene. Once the principle is understood and you know what to look for, your painting will improve considerably. Basically, all sunny areas surrounding shadows bounce back light on the shady side of a boat where the colour of the water is reflected in it.

Also, you'll notice if you study a sunlit tree where you will logically expect it, but about two-thirds of the way towards the back. At the back edge in the shade can be seen a lighter area with some of the light and colour reflected from the ground surrounding the tree.

Again there is a lighter area at the base where the light from the surrounding ground has bounced up into it. This happens on the underside of rocks too and under the eaves of houses. Notice the actual colours of the shadows. A green tinge in a side wall would probably be caused by colour bouncing off the tree nearby.

Glass windows reflect light and colour from objects opposite them, so do not always portray them as dark holes or they would look dead. In a sunny street scene, particularly, you get a ricocheting of light and colour. Shadows on the street itself will have some of the blue of the sky reflected in them. Notice the scene I have done to show the way that shadows can be used to indicate the profile of the ground.

Observe the way the shadows of the trees move over the path. Train your eye to search these things - the more you practise the more exciting subtleties you would discover.