Shedding Some Light on the Subject

"White Roses, Glass Bowl"
13 x 15, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2016
SOLD

Faithful readers know that I have recently been painting roses. I typically do a great deal of still life painting in the winter, when it is too cold to paint outdoors on location. But the roses were an entirely new challenge. And every type of rose presented its own difficulties. White roses have color shifts so subtle that you need heightened "seeing skills" and ruthless paint mixing to get them right. Yellow roses---well, let's just say that dark yellows have always been one of the hardest colors for me to see and mix correctly. And don't even get me started on the pinks!

"Yellow Roses"
12 x 16, Oil on Board
(c) Lesley Powell 2016
Available

Adding to the challenge was the fact that the light seemed to change dramatically over the course of a painting session. I am used to shifting light when painting outdoors, but it is

startling how it happens even inside! One day my colleague down the hall, the acclaimed portrait artist John Seibels Walker, stopped by. He sized up the light issues pretty quickly, and gave me some very insightful advice.

"Trio of Roses"
12 x 12, Oil on Board
(c) Lesley Powell 2016
Available

I paint still lifes using only natural light--no studio lamps. I have a large northwest facing window, and I place my still life stand next to it. John realized that I was having problems with glare in my eyes. So true--my earlier attempts to control the glare had not been helpful. John also realized that I was getting reflected light off of buildings across the way. That light carries the color of the buildings, and changes dramatically over the course of a few hours. He suggested that I block off the bottom portion of my window (up to about the top of my head). Doing so would allow "true" light from the sky to come in, and reduce reflected light from nearby buildings.

"Roses on Tiptoe"
12 x 9, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2016
Available

It works! I found that controlling the light as John described made a huge difference. Suddenly I could see better, and the light changes were not as abrupt. Thanks so much, John! It is a great gift to have such a talented artist, who is willing to share his wisdom, right down the hall.