CH 11 Light's Changing Show

Light’s Changing Show

This chapter is a short two pages first talking about the great practice of doing small thumbnails to practice memorizing and creating color.  For example from a train window as you are traveling.  He says it is good practice for memorizing colors quickly.  Usually the distant colors remain the same for the most part: like the sky and mountains.  It is neat to do an exercise like this because colors are all very similar among the thumbnails but you just have changing views.  Another good activity is painting the same landscape at different times of day and season.  Go to the same spot he says.  He also mentions not looking at the previous studies to help the eye really see what is there the next day.

Example: 

Monet’s haystacks

He also dedicates one pages to a summary of all we have learned throughout his book:

1.     Color and light are separate elements but work together.

2.     Color and light create mood, emotion, and response

3.     Stick to one source of light, and make it simple.

4.     Know your color wheel and your limit in a gamut or set of paints.

5.     Gamuts help you create good color schemes and knowing what colors to leave out.

6.     Our eyes see the world differently than a camera.

7.     As long as you are identifying visual truth and are putting down what you see it is realism.

8.     A single color is affected by all those around it and almost always shifts because of the influence of others.

9.     Study, study, study from all around you and the good techniques in this book and there by the outer eye will fuel the inner but helping you then apply these techniques to imaginary paintings.

10.  We have hundreds of tools before us today: lightfast pigments that are affordable, education, internet references, and digital tools.  USE them and become the best artist you can become!