Roots...5 Things to Remember About Light

Roots
Acrylic on Canvas 3 x 4'

When you paint, you will get to a place in developing your piece where you want to decide on details of light.  If you are working from a drawing, you  probably have established this already.  In this painting, I wanted the light coming from the left and lighting the background more than the foreground.  The painting became somewhat surreal by doing this...as the drawing was of actual roots that I'd photographed in the woods.  Of course, I added details to make this piece look watery.

When working with light:

1.  Find a focal point and make it the brightest place in the painting.

2.  To get more contrast, remember you must have a darkest dark as well as a lightest light.

3.  Observe your painting in different light situations...low light, bright light...etc.  See if you are capturing the effect you want.

4.  Work slowly, especially when adding darkest darks.  It's harder to lighten a dark, than to darken a light.

5.  Correct at the end, bringing back your focal point to the brightest...so we look there first.

What are you working on in your studio?  Let me know via comment.

Happy Painting,

Nancy