I have learned that once I know what to look for, I will see far beyond what the non-artist sees. Once we've learned the technical part of painting (regardless on the medium), it's
how we see that is going to determine how our paintings turn out. The issue handicapping most emerging painters is that they focus on getting the image right rather than switching their attention away from the image and looking for what causes it to
appear the way it does. This flaw of seeing happens especially with shadows. Do you see apples first OR do you see how the shadows on those apples make them appear to you? Do you notice that the majority of what we see as apple is in
shadow? I have contended for a long time that the first thing to notice is what is in shadow and what is NOT in shadow. When I throw the photo into notan, we can see just how much of those apples is in shadow. That one observation goes a long way determining the value relationship we create when painting those apples. But what is happening in those shadow areas? There are two major kinds of shadow: form shadow (shadow on the image) and cast shadow (shadow created by the image blocking light). Within each we can find shallow to deep values and
an occlusion (where all light is shut out). Once we can SEE these, we can paint them. It's that simple. Look at those areas circled in the photo, then paint that apple using those variations within the shadows. Enjoy a weekend of seeing!
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Happy Painting,
Dianne
dianne@diannemize.com
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