Painting with Light-Working in Series

Light and Concept

Glenn Hirsch, Instructor

backlighting creates a mood of mystery

“value’ = the black-and-white of the color

Rembrandt and Caravaggio pioneered dramatic, ‘chiaroscuro’ light, a spotlight shining into darkness.

chiaroscuro “theatrical” light

A spotlight on a stage.

The language of dramatic light was transplanted to Hollywood in the 1930s as film noir

Richard Diebenkorn

Glowing, mystical, supernatural light –

the light isn't falling on the flower, the light is coming from it.

It is the source of the light.

Georgia O'KeefeMatthias Grünewald

Monochromatic color schemes enhance mood

working in series

examples of series by well-known artists

Joan Mitchell

Roberto Matta

Wayne Thiebaud

Elmer Bischoff

Elmer Bischoff

Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Emile Nolde

Paula Rego

(English, 1935- ) Rego’s work often reflects an assertive feminism, colored by folk-themes.

Her style is often compared to cartoon illustration. As in cartoons, animals are often depicted in human roles and situations. Her later work adopts a more realistic style, but sometimes keeps the animal references — the Dog Woman series of the 1990s, for example, is a set of pastel pictures depicting women in a variety of dog-like poses (on all fours, baying at the moon, etc.).

Clothes play an important role in Rego's work, as pieces of her visual story-telling. Many of the clothes worn by models and mannequins in her work are representative of the frocks she wore as a child in Portugal. She has favored pastels over oils for much of her career.