Foiled
6" x 8" oil on panel
Whether its water, metal or glass, its the reflections that interest me. Many people believe that painting or drawing reflections is difficult, but its all down to close observation of shapes and colours. And of course magic. Joking! There's no magic in art, there's lots of looking, lots of thinking and lots of practice.
So how to get to grips with reflections?
1. Slow down. Take time to really observe what is in front of you. Our brains like to rush us past things; we take in the overview but never really see the detail. The detail is what makes or breaks reflections.
2.Look at the environment. Reflections pick up colour or shapes from objects nearby or the environment surrounding them.
3. Highlights aren't all white. The very brightest highlights where light hits the object straight on are often white, but even they have a tinge of another colour in many cases. Subtle value changes in the same or complimentary colours show how light wraps around a subject by changing from lighter to darker values.
4. Look at shapes. The shapes of light and dark areas, not just the subject is what reflects light. Plan your underdrawing to include the shapes of all areas where light changes. It becomes your guide for placement in painting.
5 comments:
great shine to the eggs :)
you mean there isn't a magic wand that will grant artistic skills?? :p
The magic is up there along with buying the paints that an admired artist has because you know its the paint that has the secret formula to success. ;)
This is gorgeous! LOVE the foiled colors! TFS!
Well done, as always, Jeanette. Your eye is as sharp as a laser, seeing all you need to see to draw and paint accurately for something than can stymie others = reflections and shine.
Barbara, I love shiny things and the challenge in painting them. So glad you like this one.
Rhonda, I wonder sometimes what makes one person see more or less detail than another when it comes to painting. There must be a study on it somewhere! I shall have to search.
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