{"id":5143,"date":"2017-05-31T11:40:39","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T18:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeinfullcolor.com\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2017-05-31T12:17:11","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T19:17:11","slug":"may-31-2017-painting-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeinfullcolor.com\/dev\/life-stories\/may-31-2017-painting-light\/","title":{"rendered":"May 31, 2017 \u2013 Painting the Light"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here it is! Meet “Gala” – my newest painting. Look for the story in my gallery later this week.<\/p><\/div>\n

During Marin Open Studios earlier this month, I was paid a visit by two lovely people \u2013 Trinette and James – who I\u2019d met at last summer\u2019s San Anselmo festival and they took the Get Intimate with Color workshop right after that. \u00a0Trinette told me that they were continuing to paint \u2013 or at leasthad been exploring color \u2013 which I love to hear. \u00a0James said that he missed the Special Saturday in January where we looked at what it takes to \u201cpaint the light.\u201d \u00a0I know that I\u2019m doing what I\u2019m meant to in this life in moments like this – because what I said next came through without hesitation, as if I had just\u00a0prepared myself to teach the class right then. \u00a0I rattled off four things it takes to paint the light. \u00a0I thought I\u2019d share them with you today.<\/p>\n

Painting the light\u2026when you think about it, it\u2019s an interesting thing to consider. \u00a0It\u2019s not quite like painting certain shapes or textures \u2013 light is less definable or describable. \u00a0But we do know it when we see it – it\u2019s probably the most frequent comment I hear about this art that is coming through me \u2013 that my paintings have captured \u201cthe light.\u201d \u00a0In looking at how that is, I\u2019ve come up with these four things.<\/p>\n

The first is you must start with the light<\/em>. \u00a0All of us in our watercolor community \u2013 as do many artists everywhere \u2013 use photo references. \u00a0This is particularly helpful if what you want to do is paint light. \u00a0Light is fleeting, ever changing and the camera saves the light for us as it was in the moment. \u00a0Looking through photos as potential paintings for the last 17-or-so years, I\u2019ve discovered a light meter that lives in the center of me. \u00a0I have a response in my body when a photo has the sense of light that is worth painting. \u00a0I take a quick breath in \u2013 almost surprised by it. \u00a0There’s even a sound that is part of the reaction \u2013 it\u2019s close to an \u201coh\u201d – but not quite. \u00a0I want to be taken<\/em> by my initial photograph \u2013 by the light it captured. \u00a0In these two photos, can you see which one gave me that reaction and which one didn\u2019t?<\/p>\n

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Not every single thing I\u2019ve painted has shocking light like the photo that inspired \u201cHallelujah\u201d (on the right), but if it doesn\u2019t there needs to be something else that evokes magic for me \u2013 like the sugar crystals in \u201cJellies from H\u00e9diard,\u201d or raindrops in \u201cRaindance\u201d below. \u00a0In order to sustain me over the many hours it takes to make a painting, I need to be enchanted by some quality in the image. \u00a0 What I\u2019ve also discovered is that I – at least \u2013 can\u2019t fake it. \u00a0I\u2019ve tried increasing the contrast of a photo in Photoshop and it just doesn\u2019t work. \u00a0If it\u2019s not there to start with I can\u2019t create the magic.<\/p>\n

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I just saw the Monet, The Early Years<\/em> exhibition at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco on Monday and he, along with many others over time, painted plenty of paintings of subjects under grey skies. \u00a0The paintings that grabbed, though, me were those where sunlight created contrast \u2013 these<\/em> paintings shimmered from all the way across the large gallery rooms. \u00a0This said, if what moves you is to paint the softness and subtleness of diffuse light \u2013 you go! \u00a0We are all called to express in our own way.<\/p>\n

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This early painting of Monet’s reveals something of what was to come in his work.<\/p><\/div>\n

The second is particular to watercolor \u2013 you have to save your whites<\/em>. \u00a0Watercolor paintings are most luminous, most striking when the whites and very light tones come from\u00a0the white of the paper shining through – rather than from white paint. \u00a0White paint has a density, a dullness that reflects quite differently than white paper. \u00a0To support myself in saving my whites I always start with a strong drawing \u2013 I do all my composing digitally so I have the support of the drawing and my reference image to show me where the whites are. \u00a0Then, it takes focus to pay attention as we paint. \u00a0When I\u2019m headed into a new section of a painting the first question I ask myself is: \u00a0What is the lightest color that isn\u2019t white? \u00a0This has me notice not only what light color I will paint, but what I will not<\/em> paint \u2013 what I will leave white. \u00a0It takes practice to be able to pay attention in this way \u2013 both in observing our reference image and in where we put our brush to the paper.<\/p>\n

Third, you have to get your darks dark enough<\/em>. \u00a0Contrast is what grabs us in a painting \u2013 contrast is what gets the viewer\u2019s attention. \u00a0There is no light without dark. \u00a0A blank piece of paper is all light, but it\u2019s not interesting until we put some darks on it to show us where the light is \u2013 by blocking out where it isn\u2019t<\/em>. \u00a0Creating darks can be a challenge in watercolor. \u00a0Because our paint is diluted with water, there is a tendency to have thin washes which don\u2019t create dark-darks. \u00a0What you want is not to paint straight from the tube \u2013 you do need to add water \u2013 your paint should always be fluid. \u00a0Getting dark enough means having enough water and<\/em> enough paint. \u00a0You might watch this video as I painted the last part of \u201cEternal.\u201d \u00a0With a dense mixture of paint and water, I painted a smooth layer of paint that obscures all<\/em> the white of the paper in one go. \u00a0In order to paint light, don\u2019t be afraid of the dark!<\/p>\n