Harmony with light

Sand Beach

Original oil painting  18x24"

by Susan Roux

Light.

The same light drapes itself on an entire scene. It was the lesson I taught my class through this painting. Light comes from one source, the sun and whatever time of day or weather condition you're trying to capture that single source illuminates it all. We all know golden hour, when for a brief time our surroundings become transformed and everything looks gilded. Golden light is draped everywhere.

The same is true for every type of light, every weather condition. It's just not as dramatic and probably harder to see.

Let's put this in terms for the artist. How do we apply this fact to our work?

Whatever color you choose to paint the light in one spot must be used to paint the light throughout. So if you decided to use a mixture of cadmium yellow, white and a dab of yellow ocher to highlight your brightest spots, then a bit of that same mixture should be added to all sunlit colors. Don't get this confused with your values (how light or dark an area is). I'm not saying you need to bring your colors to this same intensity, just add some of this same light to everything in sunlight. Here's one way to approach it. You may want to mix a little pile of cadmium yellow with your dab of yellow ocher without the white. That way you can easily add it to your other mixtures and then add as much lightener as you please to achieve the value you want.

It's the color of light you create that must drape itself on everything.

Your light could be a number of combinations. On a sunny day, it's usually the yellow combination you add to your white. Whatever you choose, be it lemon yellow, naples yellow, indian yellow, cad, ocher etc. Often this light you create might also include a bit of pink if you desire to warm it.  Be creative with your light! Don't paint every painting with the same combination. Weather conditions create different shades of light all the time. So if you're trying to capture what's actually around you, you'll need to adjust the combination of pigments in your highlights.

Just remember to add those same colors everywhere in your painting!

It's as easy as that to capture harmony with light.

So if you've shied away from experimenting with colors of light because you lose harmony, there's no need to fear it anymore. Have fun with the light. Play with the light. Just remember to make the same light kiss everything sunlit in your painting!




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"the thing"

Temptation

Original oil painting  14x18"

by Susan Roux

What are you striving to capture in your paintings?

Place a bunch of artists in front of the same scene or set-up and everyone has a different interpretation. Are we not seeing the same colors? Are we not seeing the same light?

There is much more to painting than meets the eye...

Emotion. Our own unique response to whatever subject we choose to paint. Even the same artist on a different day will interpret the same subject differently. Who we are. What we are. Everything we've been through physically and emotionally effects how we place paint to canvas. I've been reminded of this recently.

I've noticed over the years when my actual life feels out of my control, my art tightens. It's as though I'm looking to have control over something when everything else feels chaotic. I have a student who reacts completely in the opposite way. She unleashes wildly and boldly in an emotional abstract outpour that has the illusion of somebody screaming!

What happens to your art when life feels out of your control?

Even when life is going along normally, we focus on capturing different things. Is it a feeling you're trying to capture? Perhaps creating an ambiance? It is technical fundamentals? Is it certain colors you wish to play with?

When we decide on a subject to paint, there is something about that subject that spoke to us to make us choose it over all other subjects at that moment. What is that something? What was it about your subject that spoke to you? Whatever it was: the shadow play, the colors, the movement, the serenity, the lines, the structure... This should be your top priority. This should be "the thing" you're trying to capture. It is where your passion lies.

No one will feel about "the thing" exactly like you do. What captures you about the subject is what you should be striving to capture in your painting.

Ignore all those voices in your head that are telling you so and so said I should do it like this or so and so would do it this way. When you're trying too hard to focus on someone else's method, you're not following your own unique voice. Yes there are those times of learning/studying which require thought about the teacher's words. But any other time, the only thing you should be following is your own gut feeling. Let that brush go on auto pilot. Focus on "the thing" that inspired you to paint your subject. Exaggerate it even, so your viewers won't miss it. Everything else will fall into place.

When it comes to art the thing is, expressing "the thing" is what it's always been all about.

Design, Part 3

Work in progress

(still not done...) 18x24"

by Susan Roux

Part 1

Part 2

Color and value. Those magical tools that keep artists addicted. Make a color change or a value change and you can redirect the viewers eye instantly. How do you keep it all in control?

First of all, don't loose sight of your initial plan. Second, when it comes to color with respect to design, repeat it. Color has the ability to hop the eye from one place to another. To keep your viewer exploring the entire canvas, repeat colors and their eye will bounce around in rhythms.

If you don't get too caught up with local color and build your darks throughout your painting using the same colors, you'll establish a color harmony. Some people like to limit their palette to ensure harmony, but others like myself paint with a palette-full. Either way can work.

With harmony in mind, I worked the rosebush. I used shadow values. This allowed me to take my time establishing where I want sunlight to move across it.

Notice how color was added randomly at this stage. This keeps the eye interested and moving. Even in this close-up, where there isn't information to identify the subject, the eye dances around in varied movements. Had I chose to paint each blossom identically, the eye would quickly tire and the exploration would cease.

Next I began adding sunlight to the blossoms. I took my time, stepping back frequently, making sure to retain variety. So far so good.

It became trickier as I added sunlight to the greenery. The deep rich darks that added contrast to the blossoms were being lost. To bring the painting to completion, close attention to value is necessary. Adjustments need to be made. This is when being able to critique yourself becomes critical. You need to ask yourself, what's wrong and how do I fix it?

The answer isn't always easy to find. The eye will travel to the place of most contrast and the sharpest edge. Unfortunately, as I lost the high contrast around my blossoms, the spot of highest contrast and sharpness became my top window pane. Oh man, what a pain!

So here is my dilemma. I've purposefully kept my blossoms in loose edges to project their softness. Each time I would crisp one too much, I didn't like the stiff feeling it created. Now to keep with my initial idea of the roses being my focal point, I must figure out a way to retain the attention there. I do like the idea of the blossom reaching out to the window. It helps in the exploration of the canvas. As my eye goes to this window, it picks up on the tree shadow and swoops back down to catch the blossoms on the ground.

I thought I was posting a completed painting today, but as I review the many photos I took, its clear to me that my painting lost drama along the way. I've never photographed a series of my work in progress before. It's proving to be a very interesting tool. Also I'm finding that talking about my process is a good learning tool as well. I hope you'll follow along as I push myself for improvement...