Looking at Light Differently - Painting & Drawing Tips

Are you looking for ways to move your art up a NOTCH? 

Sometimes it is the LITTLE Things that can make the difference.  

Giraffe: Evening Snack - watercolour, matted 16 x 20, $600

As many of you know I am an avid sketchbooker.  In the summer my sketchbooks are filled with Outdoor Sketching outings.  But in the winter time, I am a bit of a wuss!

 So, I do other things in my sketchbook.  

 Light, shadows and colour have been my focus this year and as a result, I like to experiment. One of the biggest thing I have played with is 'changing the light' in my references.  My students in my online classes had a bit of a taste of this in some of our projects this year.  The results were really quite effective.  

First let me give you a few examples.  

1.  The simplest form of changing the light is in my crow painting below.  The crow is drawn with coloured pencils on the orange paper.  You can see how the orange is showing through just like an underpainting in acrylics. I love what it does to the log and the way it shows up in the bird.  The orange colour reads as Reflective light and Ambient light reacting with the log and crow's colouring thus making it feel very realistic.  And of course, far more interesting than the exact rendering. 

Crow: Giver of Light - Coloured Pencil - Matted 16 x 20, $600

The underpainting does not have to be all one colour.  In my painting of Busy Body, the entire background was painted first with greens, blues and bits of yellow.   Then the crow was painted on top.  If you look carefully you can see the greens and blues in his body showing through from underneath.   Again it is the principles of Ambient and Reflective light that makes it still read as very realistic.  (Special note, of course I use transparent watercolours) 

Busy Body - Matted 8 x 10 Print $20

2.  Change your sky colour. Check out my giraffe at the top the page.  (Yes, he is my first painting coming from my trip to South Africa this fall. ) Below is the reference picture.   

Reference for my Giraffe Painting

We had some wonderful sunsets when I was in South Africa and I really wanted to incorporate that into my painting.  To change the light source, in this case the blue sky to an evening sunset, means your have to change the reflective light that is bouncing around your subject. That is the challenge.  Go back and look at my giraffe and the branches and note the little ways I carried that light into my subject.  

3.  Limit the palette to 1 colour.  I painted this forest scene from one of walks on the trail using only black, gray and white.  ****You can see more about this painting on my YouTube Channel: Seeing Light Differently, using Black and White.  

Tree Cluster from Tynehead Park - Sketchbook Work

Here is the reference that I used.  

Cluster of Trees at Tynehead Park

Working with the shapes and values without the distraction of colour focusing your thoughts on the light and shadows.  You can see how the eye movement within the drawing is directed by the lights and darks. Your eye moves around the drawing, not out.  

This process can be taken one step further by taking one colour (something unrelated to the subject) and working with it.  In the case of my Snowmen Couple, I was trying out a new colour.  It was fun to interpret the shapes in this lovely purple.  I was quite pleased with the results.  

Snowmen Couple - Sketchbook Work

When you look at the reference picture you can see there is a bit of a challenge interpreting the values. But also note how much more interesting my purple couple are as compared to the original.  You can see too that I followed the value patterns from the reference but gave them subtle increases in intensity.  The result is a very eye-catching couple that are not easily forgotten.  

Snowmen Couple Reference

I must admit there were moments in my painting when I wondered what I was doing. After all, purple snowmen aren't the norm!  It was a pleasant surprise when I stood my book up and looked at the results.

Trying activities like this do change how you see light.  But they do more than that.  To really understand light you need to be looking at shadows, values, shape and colour relationships.  Your awareness of all these relationships will move up a notch. 

You can see by some of my examples that this practice can also lead to exciting and interesting work outside of the 'just sketchbook activities'.  I find they often act as a springboard to other works.  

Online Drawing Lessons with Wendy Mould, AFCA, CDM.

Enhance Your Drawing Skills – Outdoor Sketching Starter – Pen & Watercolour for Explorers

 WHEN: Thursdays, Feb 12, 19, & 26  6:30-8:30pm PT
COST: Early Bird $75 After Feb 10, $90

REGISTER: Contact Wendy
 Outdoor sketching is drawing and painting from life, full of adventures. Capturing the special moments in nature. This class will get you ready to 'get out there' and sketch.  
2 Hr Classes with access to recordings for limited time, individual discussion on weekly projects.
Mediums: pencil, pen & watercolour.
 Beginners to Advanced Welcome.

Always  Available at Art by Wendy's Studio

Original work, Commissions, Private Drawing Lessons, Prints and Cards of her Work, 

Be sure to like and share my posts.  You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email 

Have a great Artful Day,

What does a Plein Air Painting Trip REALLY look like? Part 3 Painting & Drawing Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Or 6 Ways to Get You Painting on the Road

MORNING CALM - 3 x 4 - Watercolour
Early morning is sometimes the nicest time to paint on the water. 

Let me first explain, like you, I don't travel alone. I travel with my husband and our dog, Max.  (A new puppy who is now 4.5 months old). My husband is a non-painter and our new puppy is definitely a non-painter!  To have a successful trip with other members: ie husband gets to fish, go crabbing and sight seeing;  puppy gets lots of walks and attention; and I get to do my thing requires lots of pre-planning. This has been my blog focus lately.  See the glamour of a Plein Air Travel Trip here, see Preplanning Ideas here,

Now, the meat and potatoes:  How to get your Art into the traveling day:

1.     Combine Activities: Walks and hikes are great times to combine art with life.   Max and I usually head out for walks in the early morning and late afternoon/evening each day.  I use those times to scout out places to paint.  After a good walk Max is ready to have a nap, one of the great features of a puppy!  He and I will grab my paint bag and while he naps I can work on a painting or sketch.  

2.    Paint Small: Now is not the time to work on a large canvas.  Be realistic, you only have an hour or two:  Light changes, hunger calls, other members want to move on.  I use a 5 x 7 format for watercolours and my small 5 x 8 sketchbook for quick sketches. 

3.    Be Prepared: The Girl Guides have it right "Be Prepared". Have you art bags packed and ready to go. If you have 2 hours to paint you don't want to spend it rounding up gear.  I have a special bin for my cameras and paint bags.  Whatever the situation - basic kit, full gear or painting on a log - I can grab my kit and I am ready to roll.

FISHING IN THE TIDAL POOLS - 5 x 7 - Watercolour
Catch the early morning changing skies.  Had lots of cloudy skies this trip, got some great cloud formations in my pictures. 

4.    Share Jobs:  My husband and I have been camping for years and we have our own routines. He likes a slow start and big breakfast later in the morning, I am a early riser, eat light and go kind of person.  Some days I hit the road and paint for a couple of hours early in the morning and other days I take it slow and keep him company for breakfast.  We also take turns making dinner when in camp and that will also be a painting time for me when it is not my turn to cook.  

BUSYBODY - 5 X 7 - Watercolour
A really fun rainy day project, even tried a few new things with it.

5.    Be Realistic:  A painting trip is not working in a studio.  Things can change.  It can rain for days.  If you are going to new places, on the move every other day, you won't be able to do as much as you want.  I have been doing painting trips each summer for years and know what I need for each situation.  Yes, even those days of rain. Now I pull out my iPad and use my reference pictures to paint in the trailer.  In the old, pre digital days I always carried a batch of reference pictures I could pull out and work with. 

6.    Take Risks: To get work done you need to take risks all the time.  There are the risks you face as an artist, that whole blank page thing.  You may find yourself stalling with little excuses, no shade, can't see anything to paint, little things like that. But the biggest risk is dealing with the fear of painting in front of people.  Yes, there is fear.  What will people think? or say? The fear of getting out in front of people to paint is a big one that stops many artists.  It is not always easy but once you get started success does build success.

Summer is nearly over, still time to get out your basic kit, take a risk and start working.  Not too soon to start planning for next year, make it  really rock.

If you missed my last post series on Drawing Tips for summer fun check them out.  It is a four part series starting here.  

Looking for a starting point in your drawing?  I will be happy to get you up and running.  Call me now and set up a few lessons to get you on the road to a summer of fun with your art.

Special Note: Looking for a fun Plein Air Painting Festival centered on an historic site? Right here in the Fraser Valley. August 26, 27, & 28. Prizes for everyone at all levels.  $15 - www.kilby.ca to register and get more information.  See you there.

For Commission Works see here

For Private Drawing Lessons see here

For Marketing Mentoring see here

For Marketing or Art Presentations Contact Wendy 

Be sure to like and share my posts. You won't miss a single one if you follow by email or Like my Facebook Page. Keep up with all the art events by joining my email list (see sidebar)

Have a great artful day, Wendy