If you've been reading here for very long, you already know that learning to paint is really all about learning to see. In learning to see, one of the trickiest things (at least for me) is learning to see the color of shadows. This is true for cast shadows (such as those in the top photo), as well as for the shadowed side of an object (called a "form shadow"). When light is striking a subject, its color is more readily apparent. But what lurks in the shadows??
One reason that shadows can be difficult to decipher is that their color is very subtle. In painting parlance, I would say that they are of "low intensity". Their color is a bit wishy-washy. It can be pushed in different directions, depending on the light, the immediate surroundings, and anything else in the field of vision.
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| "Miller Services Building" 8 x 10, Oil on Board (c) Lesley Powell 2016 SOLD |
There are guidelines that can be helpful. For example, the painter Richard Schmid has written that warm light produces cool shadows, and cool light produces warm shadows. An
example of warm light would be strong, late afternoon sun. An example of cool light would be morning light on an overcast day. The reason for Schmid's guideline is that the color of the light itself affects everything we see...including the shadows.
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| "Hobb Green Breakfast" Oil, 10 x 18 (c) Richard Schmid |
Just above is a painting by Schmid that shows morning light (cool) and warm shadows. Lots of delicious umber colors! Above Schmid's painting is one of my own, done in warm daylight. It has cool, blueish shadows. These two paintings are good illustrations of Schmid's guidelines. But the truth is (Schmid would agree) that there is no magic rule. There is no substitute for training your own eye, and learning to see for yourself. That's what makes the journey such a challenge--but a thrilling one!
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