Painting Intermediate Day Two Color and Light

Color and “Light”

Glenn Hirsch

‘light’ = ‘emotion’

the contrast of light and dark

the variety of warm and cool

Monet

Berthe

Morisot

Berthe Morisot “La Fable”

Rembrandt

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent

Maurice de Vlaminck

Alexei Jawlensky

Paul Gauguin

Emile Nolde

Peter Doig

R. B. Kitaj

Color theory to enhance the illusion of “light”

The contrast of warm and cool versions of each color

What’s the ‘true color’ of the house?

It depends on the time of day and the weather

The ‘real’ color doesn’t exist independently of the light

Claude Monet painted ‘white marble’ on the Rouen Cathedral in different times of day, showing that color doesn’t exist independently of the light

Colors

a "warm yellow" Cadmium Yellow Medium

a "cool yellow" Cadmium Yellow Light or Pale or Lemon

a "warm red" Cadmium Red Medium or Light

a "cool red" Quinacradone Crimson or Alizarin Crimson

a "warm blue" Ultramarine Blue

a "cool blue" Cobalt Blue or Cerulean Blue or Turquoise Blue

a "warm green" Sap Green or Chromium Oxide Green or Perm Green Light

a "cool green" Pthalocyanine Green or Viridian

a "warm brown" Burnt Sienna or burnt umber

a "cool brown" Raw Sienna or raw umber

a "black" Any black or mix your own: Alizarin Crimson + Pthalo Green

a white Titanium white or "Permalba" brand oil white

Chromatic scale to enhance the

illusion of “light”

Lighter b/w value in the light

Brighter intensity in the light

Warmer (orangey) red in the light (vs bluer purplish) in the shadow

Chromatic scale

• Light to dark• Bright to dull• Warm to cool

Chromatic scale

• Light to dark

• Bright to dull

• Warm to cool

Georgia O’Keefe

Dramatic light comes from the contrast of light and dark.

This is called “value” – the black-and-white version of the color.

Chromatic scale – light to dark, bright to dull, warm to cool

David Park, Portrait of S.C. Pepper, 1953

Elmer Bischoff

Paul Wonner

Assignment:a painting

emphasizing ‘light’

“Theatrical” light: spotlight, cast shadow, metallic glow

Paul Wonner

Melissa Miller

Elmer Bischoff

Paul Wonner

Elmer Bischoff

Paul Wonner

Elmer Bischoff

Max Oppenhiemer

Egon Schiele

Handiedan

What’s the procedure?

thumbnail sketch first – block-in light & shadow

No detail

Then paint (but the painting doesn’t have to follow the sketch)

Painting in Layers• Bright underneath

• Dull on top

• (or vice versa)

paint on a dark background

Dark green on a red background

• Step-by-Step

• Block in the whole composition, including the lighht

• Then let dry and clarify detail

The brush changes direction, following the contour of the shapes

Work from thin to thick, allow each layer to dry, block in the whole composition, including the light and shadow

Painting the background also redefines the edge of the shape

(e.g., behind the cheek)

• This isn’t a ‘rule,’ it’s a ‘recipe’ to enhance the illusion of ‘light’

Robert Haemmerling