Painting Sunshine Part 3

In part 1 of this series on painting sunshine I referred to an interval of value between the lit and unlit portions of an object.  There is a very good exercise which will help you to realize what that interval is. 

On a clear day between 11AM and 2 PM make a little setup as illustrated in the photograph:

Paint a square of color on a sheet of paper, not too saturated, not too dark.  One edge should be sharp, and paint it small enough to fit in the shadow cast by the cardboard.  Place the colored square in the cast shadow, with a sharp edge right on edge of it.  The task is to match that color as it appears in the shade and paint it in the light right up against the shadow.

It may be a revelation to you.

Shadows aren't black because they are lit from other, weaker sources, chiefly light reflected from  surrounding objects and the ground (warm), and from the sky (cool).  Also moisture and particles in the air lighten distant shadows.  So the result of the exercise represents what is pretty near the maximum interval.

Painting Sunshine Part 2

Another way to represent sunshine is by the use of yellow.  This painting by Paul Gaugin does not employ dark shadows in order to make the sun shine by  contrast:

There are some very light colors in the shadows, but they contain little or no yellow.  The sunlit portion at the top, however, is painted with strong yellow and other colors containing strong yellow.

Nicola Simbari sometimes uses yellow instead of dark-and-light contrast to effect bright sunshine.  This example is very high-keyed and has touches of strong yellow strewn over much of the surface of the picture, creating a feeling of sunshine saturating the scene.

Painting Sunshine

A favorite occupation of mine is the representation of sunshine with paint.  Sunshine connotes optimism, warmth and general well-being, qualities I strive for in my pictures.

One way to represent sunlight is to make a large enough interval between the lit and unlit portions of a given surface.  This detail of an oil sketch by the 29 year old Claude Monet hasn't quite a large enough interval on the face and so doesn't convey the same brilliant sunshine as other parts of the same picture.

Don't Overlook Looney Tunes

Much about art is mysterious and imponderable; much about color harmony is complex - and subjective.  I have studied, and applied the theory of color and sometimes got good results.  Systems of color theory are not to be scoffed at.

But this is Nuts & Bolts, and since I am not an innovator in the field of color harmony, I will admit to how I have achieved some of my best results: by stealing from other artists whose paintings sing with gorgeous chords which I couldn't have come up with on my own.

One of my favorite sources is Persian miniatures from the Middle Ages.

A fairly recent painting of mine, "Pauline Street Breakdown" Now hangs in the office of a famous medical doctor.

It employs a color scheme plundered from a little six-inch painting made in China or India eight hundred years ago.

Another rich source, for me, is American animated cartoons.

 

 

 

I'll bet Matisse had a look at some of those book illustrations from the East.  My conscience is clear.