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HOW LIGHT WORKS ITS MAGIC

3. FRONT, PICTORIAL AND AMBIGUOUS LIGHT 1. Front Light - the favorite of photographers, two dimensional artists, children and colorists where emphasis is on color and texture over form and value. Front light can eliminate the need for shading and shadows (which is a pity for they are a great joy and keep many artists from wandering aimlessly about the streets in the dead of night) Front light is also excellent for use in portraits of unremarkable people. Holbein's front light portrait of a Dutch princess eventually caused the schism that resulted in the formation of the Church of England. Like putty front light can cover-up many cracks. USING THE JMW TURNER FRONTLIGHT PAINTING TECHNIQUE: (From my 'Arrive Timor' (60" by 36") painting from the Bounty series) 1. On a prepared canvas begin with a glaze of usually yellow, with touches of red and blue. (blue suggesting the distance, yellow the middle ground and red the foreground). These washes serve as a beginning concept. the plan for solving the problems the subject presents. 2. Make composition drawing. 3. Lay in the large masses boldly with impasto white and allow to dry. 4. Draw in the forms with a light brown (burnt sienna) 5. Begin to add colour using glazes and scumbles. Do not fear adding white to the glazes as this can create a broken light effect. Build thin layers of colour on top of each other maintaining a luminous transparency to the canvas and the textured white below. (note - can be wiped) 6. Apply accents and details including dark local colours as well as impasto white highlights strategically placed to give the effect of glimmering light. 7. Finish the painting in the frame touching up with fresh varnish and using thin brushes to drive paint into the cracks etc and other areas. THEORY * The areas of greatest light are white, in haze a pale yellow{non-transparent forms overlaping this source are black) A cloud superimposed in front of a dark area will appear with a bluish hue (if it is to be brought foward in shade) and a more saturated yellow hue if it is to be advanced in light. Shade areas can be either recceding (cold ) or advancing (warm). A hazy area appears yellow when an area or source of brightness (sun) is behind it; as it intensifies( the cloud) it turns orange, then red , until finally, completely intensfied it appears black. A brighened cloudy area in front of a dark area appears blue, changing into violet when the appropiate source of brightness occurs * Refer back to lessons on color theory.

2. PICTORIAL AND AMBIGUOUS LIGHT In the painting 'allegory for a time capsule' I constructed a sky spanning morning, noon and night. The possibilities of light on the ground are immense, but still, within in their particular areas, the scenes must be light consistent. The transition areas as always pose the greatest difficulty. Here I used the frame to create artificial boundaries but the changes of pallet (colors)and angled light, made the true difference. Note the pyramids are lit from the right, the Venetian castle from above and the skyscrapers from the left. [ Lesson Index ] [ Previous Lesson ] [ Next Lesson ]