All About the Light

The only thing a painter can paint is the light.  It seems like he's painting a tree or a face, but he's painting the look of the light that is bouncing off the object and landing on the retina.  The subject is the light.  Even if it's in the shadows, a painter is painting something about the light: the bounce light, the ambient light; if it can be seen, it has light touching it somehow. 
The light has a color to it that will be felt by the viewer as warm or cool, and will influence the local color of the object.  It's smart to try to understand this, as it does influence color choices.  A blue light on a red ball will make the local red color look different (purple) from a yellow light on a red ball (orange).  This is because blue and red make purple, and yellow and red make orange!  The funny thing is, if you paint it right, it will read "red," even if it was actually painted with purple or orange pigments. 
And the shadow that will be cast is different according to the color of the light as well.  "Warm" light casts a cool shadow; "cool" light casts a warm shadow.  The first thing a painter has to do is determine the color of the light.

Each of these four studies, done when I was painting with Gerhartz, was painted in a different light.  I was glad to be able to really closely scrutinize the temperature and relationships for as long as I wanted.  Well, as long as I wanted in three hours.
(I don't know how these will be presented in the email version of this post, so if you want to see it in its natural and deliberate format, please click www.kimcarlton.blogspot.com )
You've already seen part of one of these in the last post.  Here are all four:

 

There is cool natural light (the girl with the flower); cool natural with warm artificial light (the girl in the kimono); cool artificial light (the auburn-haired girl); and warm artificial light (the man).  The most challenging one was the cool natural with warm artificial light.  Most of the face was in shadow and I had to concentrate to discern the temperature there.  In spite of the warm artificial light, the shadow was warm, maybe due to the overall cool light pouring in through the north-facing windows.  The studio is painted a warm color so that would also affect the feel of the bounce light.

  

 

No matter where we are or what we're looking at, it's all about the light.  The purpose of most representational painters is to share a light impression, regardless of what the objects in the painting happen to be.  I feel like it is true in life as well: it's not about the objects; it's all about the light.  The way you see the world is related to the kind of light you put on it. 

 

    

Inspiration

 

I have been so inspired.  Recently, in Texas, we have had Sorolla in Dallas, Sargent in Houston and Gerhartz in The Woodlands. I have learned from these three artists by studying how they process and organize light and temperature and values.  I spent today with Sargent, saying good-bye and asking for just one more lesson; he never ever disappoints a person who asks nicely and listens carefully.

This is a crop of a painting I did from life while studying with Gerhartz, showing the play of light and shadow across the form of girl's head, that embodies many of the ideas I've been exploring this spring.  Her face is illuminated by cool north light from a window and her hair is up-lit from behind with a hot spotlight, yet most of her face is not in the light at all.  I love the extreme subtleties of form that can be turned within a color-value shape, just using slight shifts in temperature.  If I learned nothing else from Sargent and Sorolla, I learned that there is infinite strength in restraint.  I will be practicing this idea over the summer and I'll try to be better about posting on the blog and website. 

I taught my last class of the semester this week and am looking forward to catching up on some studio work.  I found out that Something Found was picked as a finalist in the prestigious Art Renewal Center's International Salon, so that's two international salons that the little Spanish lady did well in.  She's back and available at RS Hanna Gallery now.  Shannon has sold five of my paintings in the last couple of months so I know I've found the right place for my work.  I love this time of year when all the quiet work of the winter is blossoming forth and bearing fruit!  
Thank you for stopping by www.kimcarlton.blogspot.com and have a safe and grateful Memorial Day holiday.   

Salon International 2014

Salon International was very different this year. Greenhouse Gallery, the SI venue, has new owners and has moved back into their original gallery space.  Many decisions are being made to "remake" Greenhouse and the Salon, including expansion of the show to include other media besides oil, and limiting the number of accepted entries to around 200 from the traditional 400.  I felt honored to have both my paintings chosen this year, and then flat out elated to be one of the 12 winners chosen by the great master artist, David Leffel.

   

The two paintings in the show were Something Found (above), which won the first honorable mention, and Little Gypsy Girl.  The show was great and having Mr Leffel there to judge it first time out was a fantastic stroke of brilliance.  Having Mr Leffel there to talk to collectors about your work while you are standing right there is nothing short of surreal.
 
Thank you to the people who came out to support the arts and the artists in the salon!
And thank you for visiting the Paint Your Joy blog!  www.kimcarlton.blogspot.com