Painting light and shadow in watercolours
Tissa Hewavitarane
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Evening Shadows: Sparkling light and colour
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ART: From the day the sun set its eyes on earth there was light. I
think of light as something created by the sun illuminating the earth's
atmosphere fitter, and falling gently to sarface like snow.
Therefore we as artists need light to paint. Light comes in many
forms. Light has colour and differing intensities; it can be direct or
reflected; it can define local colour, obscure and alter local colour.
Becoming acutely aware of specific lighting conditions can make you a
better painter. Before you begin to paint, take time to study the colour,
intensity and other qualities of the light. Ask yourself wether it's
warm or cool, clear or hazy direct (like a spot light) or filtered (like
a floodlight).
There is a large difference between going out to paint what you see,
and going out to paint the light you see. This is one component of
painting we can't do without. A water colourist who has worked with the
medium are aware of its great benefits, permitting one to get its simple
effects an awareness of and sensitivity to the colour of light be it
natural of artificial.
Water colour makes it possible for you to be spontaneous, to pare a
subject to its essentials, and a perfect medium for catching effects of
lights. It transforms your imagination to reality.
Through the ages artists have been concerned about these two major
aspects of painting light and shadow solving how light strikes on an
object and particularly in water colours, how to capture the elusive,
luminous quality of light in painting.
We are out in that glorious light of the world where we expererience
nature in all its moods from early morning until the hour when only man
made light are left. You will discover how to capture the grace and
beauty of nature. How to paint the seasons, and how to harness the power
of light and more.
Depending on the nature of the day, reflected light can be either a
very important part of your painting. The strong colour is the most
expressive element in the artist's vocabulary. To relegate colour to a
secondary role is to communicate with half a vocabulary. Notice the
differences I have applied on this painting.
I have expressed in colours what I felt and understood of the entire
landscape. I have titled the painting as 'Evening Shadows'. You will
observe a bluish - yellow light appears on the sky and the earth is lit
with a very light yellow colour, and the whole picture appears to
sparkle with light and colour. you can feel the colour of the road
coming through the shadows.
In the background a grove of trees along the bank cast very dark
shadows. The foliage of these tress acts as a umbrella and prevents
light from working its way into the shadows. Instead of trying to paint
individual leaves let your brush strokes suggest them.
The colours and tones in the background trees are of a dark texture
to give strength and stability to the painting. Notice how I have used
rugged dry brush strokes on the tree trunk to suggest the texture of
peeling bark.
The painting is a remarkable study of not only composition but also
of light and colour. It is also composed entirely of greys raging from
palest tint to the deepest grey-brown, giving an impression of
consistent harmonious light.
One of the most attractive qualities about water colour is the
ability to express even the most transient effects of light, colour and
atmosphere found in nature. The appeal of this painting lies in the
delicate transition from pale delicate washes to strong dark colours.
Shadows play an important role in conveying an impression of bright
sunlight.
Since the foreground tress are mostly indicated by dark green patches
this area appears the more intense and our eye is automatically drawn to
it; thus if forms the focal point of the picture.
The old rusty fence is part of the subject of my painting, but some
how it look s lost. However, you many observe how pale dry brush
strokes' indicate a broken fence. I have kept the greatest amount of
detail in the foreground and simplified the background sky with a light
wash. Tones and colours are much effective in the foreground than in the
background.
No other medium can quite match up to the unique freshness and
delicacy of water colour - that is if you know how to mix the correct
colours properly. For a beginner to paint in this medium can be very
frustrating when colours that sparkle like jewels on the palette end up
looking like mud on the paper. So why go things wrong? Mostly muddy
colour is the result of muddy thinking.
In an effort to make something look real; a novice painter tends to
fiddle about on the paper, pushing and prodding the paint and building
up dense, chalky layers of colour.
When pure unmixed colour is brushed onto white paper and allowed to
settled undisturbed, the effect is clear and luminous. So don't prod,
dab or scrab your colours once they are on the drawing paper. Be sure of
the colour you want before applying it, and then brush it on quickly and
confidently.
Water colour is like playing golf; the fewer strokes you use, the
better. Don't be a slave to your subject - break lose from it and let
your enjoyment of it come through in your painting.
To get more expressive power into your painting its vital to put more
energy into your brush strokes. To achieve this energy without losing
control of the medium requires skill, and this can only be gained
through constant practice. The more one paints, the more he gets the
feel of the subject many times, so as to become really familiar with it.
Learning to paint in water colours is like learning to drive a car.
The ride may be a bit bumpy and jolting at first, but the more you do
it, the smoother it becomes.
Along with the following suggestions, they'll help you to get more
out of your paintings - and put more into them.
The writer is an internationally known water colour painter.
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