Tag: reflected light

Trihue Watercolor, Week 7

The seventh sessions of the Trihue Watercolor class for Winter 2018 were held on Wednesday, February 28 and Sunday, March 18. The colored light studies were critiqued. The new topic, surface, was introduced. Surface has to do with light being reflected or absorbed. Similar to the value scale of white to black, you can imagine a surface scale from very reflective to not at all reflective: mirror to black velvet. Still water at a distance will reflect the sky or other surroundings, acting like a mirror, while looking down into it at a steep angle, or where an object is between us and the light source, you can see through it like a window. The new painting assignment provides a chance to tackle this intriguing phenomenon.

The seventh sessions of the Trihue Watercolor class for Winter 2018 were held on Wednesday, February 28 and Sunday, March 18. The colored light studies were critiqued. The new topic, surface, was introduced. Surface has to do with light being reflected or absorbed. Similar to the value scale of white to black, you can imagine a surface scale from very reflective to not at all reflective: mirror to black velvet. Still water at a distance will reflect the sky or other surroundings, acting like a mirror, while looking down into it at a steep angle, or where an object is between us and the light source, you can see through it like a window. The new painting assignment provides a chance to tackle this intriguing phenomenon.

Week 7 homework assignment and handouts: Surface

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SurfaceLesson.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SurfaceDemo.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SurfaceTempltC.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SurfaceDemRev.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SurfaceRevTemplate2.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/VolumeColor2.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Gradation-Strat.pdf”]

For more explanations of surface, see this 2012 Tri-hue class post and the following week’s critique.

Demo photos – surface

Discussion photo – colored light

Dick showed this photo that Kathy had sent him with a clear example of colored light and shadows.

Notice the colors of the light and shadows

Videos – Class explanations and demos

Colors of light and shadow

Dick Nelson explains the relationship between the colors of a light source, its shadow, and the ambient light, and how to apply it to mixing colors for a watercolor. Cover the entire paper with a tint of the light color. Mix a shadow color containing black (because there is a lot of white light in any light), the complement of the light color, and the color of the ambient light. (2:30)

Painting strategy: Illusion of a gradated veil

Dick Nelson shows an illusion of a gradated veil, and describes the watercolor painting strategy for achieving it. (4:07)

Critique of transparency illusions in Albers book

Dick Nelson analyzes two transparency illusions from the Josef Albers book Interaction of Color, pointing out where the illusions fail to be completely convincing because they behave inconsistently with real life. (3:38)

Painting demo & strategy for surface illusion, volume color; plotting reflections

Dick Nelson shows and describes strategies for conveying the illusion of water or another reflective surface, volume color (atmospheric perspective), and how to plot reflections. (6:14)

Wednesday class photos

Sunday class photos

Mahalo to Valérie Richter for Wednesday photos and videos, and to Holly Duane for Sunday photos.

Color Relationships 2, Fall 2016 week 5

The fifth session of the Color Relationships 2 class for Fall 2016 was held on Wednesday, September 28. We critiqued the homework (White light and shadow), which is always a trickier assignment than it initially seems. The class was introduced to the bizarre phenomenon of colored light and shadows, which often defies what your mind tells you to be true! Seeing it happen in real time is key to this lesson, and Dick provided a great demonstration to prove the effects. Please see the full post for photos, class materials, and this week’s new homework assignment, Colored light and shadow.

The fifth session of the Color Relationships 2 class for Fall 2016 was held on Wednesday, September 28. We critiqued the homework (White light and shadow), which is always a trickier assignment than it initially seems. The class was introduced to the bizarre phenomenon of colored light and shadows, which often defies what your mind tells you to be true! Seeing it happen in real time is key to this lesson, and Dick provided a great demonstration to prove the effects. Please see the full post for photos, class materials, and this week’s new homework assignment, Colored light and shadow.

Homework assignment

The homework is at the very bottom of this PDF. Re-create your white light composition in colored light, or create a new study of colored light and shade.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ColoredLightShade.pdf”]

Class recap – some key ideas

Critique – Illusion of White Light

The homework showed a variety of studies seeking to convey an impression of a white spotlight. One of the keys to a convincing illusion was to show multiple colors and shapes both in the light and in the shade; another key element was the overall Gestalt. As Dick loves to say, “Everything comes back to RELATIONSHIPS.”

Dick’s main comments on the homework:

  • Gestalt plays a large part in conveying your intentions correctly – the audience can’t understand your message if the Gestalt is not clear. The most common problem was a formal or symmetrical composition. To “sell” the viewer on your illusion, the arrangement should be casual, askew, jaunty. Informal positioning, overlaps and angles will be more convincing, because it’s rare for objects to be perfectly centered or aligned in the real world.

We are making visual statements, and we want the viewer to read it correctly … the viewer has to see it immediately – you don’t want to have to write it out.

  • Make sure the connection between what is in the light, and what is in the shade, is consistent and uniform; remember, light will treat everything in its path EQUALLY.

This is what’s so important about light and shadow: it unifies the painting.

When you start thinking [as you’re painting], that ‘This is separate from this, and this is separate from this’, you’re not thinking like nature anymore.

View all studies submitted online

Colored light demo and slide show

Satisfied that the class understood the principles of white light and shadow, Dick moved on the next topic: colored light and shadows. This interesting phenomenon has been observed for many centuries (the first methodical account on the color of shadows was written in 1672, by Otto von Guericke), yet it is still one that defies our rational expectations. Shadows are always the complement of the light source: if you shine a red light on an object, its shadow will be green. Shine a green light on it, and the shadow is red. Weird, but true!

The best example of colored light and shadow seen in nature is viewed at sunrise or sunset, when the light is very orange or amber-colored. This time of day is a favorite with photographers and painters, for it infuses skin tones with a beautiful rosy glow, and warms up all the colors in a scene. However, a colored light source will affect various colors in different ways, either enhancing its dominant parent color (thus becoming more saturated), or working against its dominant parent color (and thus toning it towards a neutral gray). As Karen wrote in the 2013 Color Relationships post: “Colors could be either enhanced or dulled by the light and by the shadow. A warm-colored light (yellow or pink) enhanced colors containing yellow or magenta, and dulled cooler colors, those containing cyan. The cool blue or green shadow, respectively, of those warm lights, enhanced cool colors and dulled warm ones.”

Noticing the correct color of the shadows is imperative for this assignment, as it is the hue of the shadows which tells the viewer what color the light source is. We cannot identify the color of the light source by the highlights alone, since as the light falls across all objects of varying colors, it will modify these colors equally and make it difficult to distinguish the original hue separately from the colored influence (ex: a purple hue will not change to orange under an amber light, it will still appear purple to our eyes). This is described by the term ‘color constancy‘, which loosely means you can see the same colors in context to each other, no matter what color light is shining on them.

We don’t always perceive these colors accurately, however, due to an effect called “color constancy.” If we “know” from past experience that objects have a certain color – a red apple, a white house – we will tend to interpret them as that color, even when the color is strongly modified by colored light or shade. But if we paint them as the color we “know” they will look wrong, as seen in some local paintings depicting white surf at sunset. This is the idea of “local color.” Local color exists only in our minds. Color is never absolute; it is always relative to the lighting conditions and surrounding colors. Colors at sunset are different than “in the light of day,” which is why it evokes such a different mood. If you understand these concepts, you are more likely to notice these phenomena, and perceive them more accurately.  – Karen, Color Relationships 2, 2015

Dick listed the three things to ask when painting shadows:

  1. What is the color of the light? (think in terms of Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow)
  2. What is its complement?
  3. Is there any ambient or reflected light? How will that affect the shadows?

And again, why teach us about colored lights and shadows? Because it unifies and creates RELATIONSHIP in a piece: “That’s why I’m teaching film and light: it unites, it brings things together.” Just look to the many examples of Baroque paintings (especially Caravaggio and Rembrandt) to see what using a colored light source will do for your work.

Class photos

Class materials

Videos

These videos were part of the slide presentation.

Colored spotlight

Analyzing Kit Gentry’s upcountry sunset photo

Color constancy

Watercolor painting strategy for colored light

3D Illusion of colored light in Illustrator

Same class, different year

View the corresponding class post from 2015 or 2013.

Color Relationships 2, 2015 week 5

The fifth session of the Color Relationships class for Winter 2015 was held on Friday, February 6. We critiqued the white light and shade assignment. The phenomenon of colored light was introduced through a demonstration, discussion, and video presentations. Students will define their own assignment and criteria for a colored light illusion.

The fifth session of the Color Relationships class for Winter 2015 was held on Friday, February 6. We critiqued the white light and shade assignment. The phenomenon of colored light was introduced through a demonstration, discussion, and video presentations. Students will define their own assignment and criteria for a colored light illusion.

Homework assignment

Create your own assignment and criteria for a colored light illusion, as described below.
Colored light assignment

Class recap – some key ideas

Critique – white light

Homework & studies
Homework & studies

Homework studies submitted demonstrated an understanding that we need to see multiple colors under both light and shade to correctly read an illusion of white light. The gestalt in some of the studies could have been improved by using a more casual arrangement of shapes. Unevenly placed shapes, and an off-center light, would more closely resemble real life. There’s a lot to pay attention to, to be an effective visual magician!

Observations

Kathy shared some photos of mangoes, where colored reflected light from neighboring fruit and the table can be clearly seen (below, and above in the critique board photo). Holly shared photos she’d taken which illustrate light and shadow phenomena, below.

New this week: Colored light

Even more than white light, colored light has the power to both unify a scene and set a mood. Because the shadow color is the complement of the light color, all colors in the scene are modified. Under a warm light like amber, warm colors are intensified and cool colors are dulled (toned, made more neutral), while in the blue-green shadow of an amber light, warm colors are dulled and cool colors intensified. We frequently observe this phenomenon at sunset, “the magic hour,” the time Leonardo da Vinci was referring to when he said, “Paint at no other time than this!”

Colored light has a lot of white in it, so its shadows also have a lot of black. Shaded areas will also show evidence of the ambient light color, but in illuminated areas, the ambient light color is insignificant, because it is overwhelmed by the colored light source.

We don’t always perceive these colors accurately, however, due to an effect called “color constancy.” If we “know” from past experience that objects have a certain color – a red apple, a white house – we will tend to interpret them as that color, even when the color is strongly modified by colored light or shade. But if we paint them as the color we “know” they will look wrong, as seen in some local paintings depicting white surf at sunset. This is the idea of “local color.” Local color exists only in our minds. Color is never absolute; it is always relative to the lighting conditions and surrounding colors. Colors at sunset are different than “in the light of day,” which is why it evokes such a different mood. If you understand these concepts, you are more likely to notice these phenomena, and perceive them more accurately. Renaissance paintings show objects with distinct colors, in the light of day, while Baroque paintings tend to have colors unified under a common light, setting a very different mood.

Class materials

Demonstrating how a colored spotlight modifies both the colors in the light as well as cast shadow

A tutorial on how to create the illusion of a cast shadow on a form and colors from a colored light source.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Forms-in-lights-updated.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ColoredLightShade.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ProducingColoredLite.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CreatingColorLite.pdf”]

The PDF below has 29 pages of drawing instruction and exercises, including helpful information on perspective and light.
[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Drawing.pdf”]

See also the 2013 post on colored light, and the following week.

Color Relationships 2, 2015 week 4

The fourth session of the Color Relationships class for Winter 2015 was held on Friday, January 30. We critiqued the volume color assignment. The phenomenon of white light was introduced through a demonstration, discussion, and video presentations. Students will define their OWN assignment and criteria for a white light illusion.

The fourth session of the Color Relationships class for Winter 2015 was held on Friday, January 30. We critiqued the volume color assignment. The phenomenon of white light was introduced through a demonstration, discussion, and video presentations. Students will define their OWN assignment and criteria for a white light illusion.

Homework assignment

Create your own assignment and criteria for a light illusion, as described below. Refer to the videos and PDFs in the “Class Materials” section for helpful supplemental information.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/WhiteLiteAssign.pdf”]

Class recap – some key ideas

Critique – volume color

Volume color is an important tool for an artist. Used correctly, it can create unity and harmony in an image. Being aware of, and understanding, what happens in nature helps you avoid problems evident in the work of many “intuitive” artists.

One student commented that what she is learning in this class is seeping into every part of her life – viewing work in galleries, choosing clothes to wear, even earrings! This awareness is more behavioral evidence that learning is taking place.

Volume color homework
Volume color homework

Dick went into depth on some details during critique. Keep proportions consistent between similar objects. Use contrasts of scale to strengthen illusions of depth, such as adding a large foreground tree to the cityscape above. Be aware of (and eliminate) coincident (overlapping or aligned) edges that undermine or weaken an illusion. He pointed out how one piece didn’t hang together as a single image; how hard edges separated it into three. He softened this by saying, “The process of going through this is not an easy one. I applaud you for taking it on. But I won’t sugar coat, and slap you on the back just for trying. I will give you an objective critique so you can learn. I won’t say ‘it works’ or ‘it doesn’t work’ without providing objective reasons.” He also pointed out areas that allow the eye to move around within the image, to help clarify his point.

Cropping can help your images communicate. Edit out distractions, in order to best tell your story. Using cropping Ls can help you focus on essential elements, and discover hidden pictures within pictures.

Introducing white light

Dick gave a demo of white light shining on a white cube and an arrangement of colors. Shining the light from different directions allowed analysis of how we perceive the strength and direction of light – from the shadows it casts. The contrast between shaded and illuminated areas of a light color (like white or yellow in the photos) is greater than the contrast on a darker color like green, because light colors reflect more light, and dark colors absorb more light. Carefully observing this kind of phenomenon will help you identify and solve problems in your own or others’ work.

Shadow colors are the complement of the light source, so for white light, the shadow is black. Outdoors, most areas are exposed to some ambient light, which tends to be blue because “we live in a blue dome,” as Monet observed. Thus, because of this ambient blue light, most outdoor shadows will be cool. Light reflected from neighboring surfaces also influences the local color of an object. The third video below, on plotting white light, illustrates these effects.

Sneak peek at the art history game

Dick may offer a 9-week art history class soon. It starts with a game, providing students with a cognitive framework of important periods in the history of western art, and some of their main characteristics. This allows Dick to focus on common themes across different periods, rather than following a strict chronological path. Art expresses the values of the culture and the artist. Learning about the past allows an artist to identify their own place in history, their own values and philosophy, and to choose them consciously. “There’s room for you in art whether you’re a romantic, a realist, a classicist…” Dick said.

Class materials

A tutorial for artists who wish to incorporate the illusion of a light on a variety of hues and values.

Without light, there can be no color. This animation demonstrates mixing the primary colors of light and of pigment, and the relationship of light primaries and pigment primaries. In either medium, the primaries can be combined to create any color imaginable.

The video above is slightly different from the one shown in class.

A tutorial on plotting white light, its cast shadow, and reflected light.

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/WhiteLightShade.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Light-ExerciseC-Converted-copy.pdf”]

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Plot-Shadows.pdf”]

Tri-hue watercolor class, week 5: light & shadow critique; gradation strategies

Critique of last week’s exercises

Illusions of white and colored spotlights

Watercolorists have an advantage over artists in other media when it comes to shadows. Since light affects all objects in a scene equally, you can mix a single batch of color for your shadows and apply wherever needed. Dick loves using light and shadow in paintings because, “instantly, it unifies.”

Here’s the basic principle of creating the illusion of a spotlight on a surface: the shaded area contains some degree of black (that’s what defines a shade, remember?) plus the complement of the light color. So for white light, the shadow appears as a black film. For a bright light, the shadow is dark; a dimmer light would have a lighter shadow. For amber light (such as at sunset), the shadow contains blue. (In years past, artists were taught a falsehood: that the shadow of an object contains the complement of the object’s color.) Some hints came out as we reviewed which illusions were most successful:

  • You can’t just put a colored circle inside a shaded background; you need to have at least 2 reference shapes and colors in the scene so you can see how they are affected by the light and shadow. This helps its “gestalt” (see below).
  • Use a saturated color for at least one shape, because if all are left as tints, the lighted area might be read as a veil instead.

Gestalt has to do with composing your shapes so they will be perceived as you intend. For example, in the picture at left, if you want to illustrate a wire-frame cube, the lower drawing is more convincing that the top one. Symmetrical shapes will tend to be perceived more as a design than as a representation of reality. For this reason, in the picture below, the arrangement on the left is less successful, due to its near symmetry, than the one on the right, which is clearly asymmetrical.

3D still-life/landscape illuminated by ambient light and a point source

There are three sources of light on objects (and their representation in images):

  1. Ambient, which affects all objects in the scene
  2. Direct, falling from one or more light sources on some portion of the scene, and
  3. Reflected, bouncing off one or more surfaces in the scene onto other surfaces

Here again, variation in the hue and saturation of the shapes helps convey the illusion more effectively than where the shapes had similar colors or saturation.

Gradation demos

Connie and Dick demonstrated their methods (which were slightly different) for achieving a smooth color gradation. Jill captured a video of Dick’s demo:

Connie’s gradation demo

Dick’s gradation demo

Here are Connie’s helpful hints for a gradient wash in watercolor:

  1. Start wet – both sides
  2. Use the softest, biggest flat brush you have – or a huge round sable, if you have one
  3. Start with dark side and lay down several strokes of deep, saturated color
  4. Brush QUICKLY down from there with back and forth strokes down to 2/3 of your sheet – not recharging your brush with pigment
  5. Rinse out all color from brush and work from light up to maybe one half of sheet. Tip sheet so that gravity helps move pigment back and forth, being careful not to let pigment run all the way to the bottom or the lightest part of the wash.
  6. You may add pigment to top and work down again – as long as sheet is evenly wet.
  7. Dry on towel

Remember to work fast
Remember to have sheet evenly wet to begin with and pay attention to even wetness throughout.

And now for this week’s homework!

[gview file=”https://dicknelsoncolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/GradationStrategies.pdf”]

The homework assignment for this week is to reproduce all of the exercises on the page above, in your own choice of colors. Use 1/16 or 1/8 of a sheet for each.