The Analogy Collection – and the philosophy behind its creation*
There are very few rules or laws in Art of Painting. I mean law; like the law of gravity… gravity works ever time! We can count on it. Especially when the apple falls from the tree. So too with the painterly law or rule: “cool light, warm shadow”, which is the reverse of the other painterly law : “warm light, cool shadow”.
The painting Cool Light, Yellow Chair is a good example of the cool light rule. The light from this window is in my studio (where I sometimes teach). This window is on the north side of the building. The light coming through is very consistent and steady; but most importantly, it is cool. It is mostly coming from the sky and not too involved with the sunlight which moves and changes all the day on the other side of the building, the south side.
Placing the yellow chair and the objects on the chair was a wonderful exercise in using, locating and understanding cool light. Cool light is a bit elusive and sometimes difficult to see. The warm light from the sun or a light bulb is very noticeable and strong. The cool light is softer and subtle, the warm shadows, even harder to see and distinguish.
Looking at the painting do you the viewer see any areas that would portray warm shadows? I see them under the window sill and on the edges of the yellow chair that face away from the window.
Beyond the light in the painting there is another interesting facet about this painting… some might see it as a technique that a painter may choose to use in his/her painterly repertoire… it is that the canvas has been left pretty much untouched… raw canvas is left paint free. Not because the artist didn’t know what to do… but that the artist was wise enough to leave it alone; because it worked…sometimes this effect happens. While I was working on this analogy painting during class, it did happen, which created the painting’s story of cool light and untouched canvas.
*Philosophy Behind The Analogy Collection
First one must learn to draw, see and understand form. Drawing is not exact rendering; it is understanding and mastering the concept of “spatial placement” along with analogies of light, color and design.
One of a series of posts based on -The Analogy Collection- and the philosophy behind its creation. The series of paintings for the Art of Painting Advanced Studies Class were created with the definite goal for painters to learn and master the concepts of structure, shape, form, and color; as well as the concept of light and its influence on the painting as it hits the objects being painted.
“If you get it right; it works; people are amazed and influenced by the image!” – Don Sahli
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