Light and shadow in painting
What is the direction of light in an artwork? Do you pay attention to it when you are drawing and painting? What are shadows in a drawing or painting? Do you know how they relate to the source of light? These are simple things, but pretending they do not exist or forgetting about them makes your drawing and painting flat and unconvincing.
Direction of light
For me personally, light must come from the left or from the left and from behind. That is when values and shadows in my paintings work well, and I intentionally and sometimes subconsciously would choose only such views and subjects. Why? When you know where the shadow falls and how to create it, you can use memory and imagination for that. If you struggle with shadows, most likely they are not cast from the correct side.
Creating art from photo
If you are creating your drawings or paintings from photos, you should know that there is no clear source of light or it comes from the right side very frequently. The direction of light can be also hard to detect on a photo. If your brain does not feel the same way about the source of light as it is on the photo, you will be struggling with every shadow and every detail you include in your composition.
Adjust the subject, not your perception
Generally, light and shadow is an important feature of any drawing and painting. Experienced artists use it automatically and they create set-ups or paint views where the light direction matches their visual perception. If you are just starting out, pay attention to the point where light comes from, its source. Outdoors, it is often the sunlight, but we do not normally paint the sun, we just indicate this area with color.
Sketch and quick watercolor for shadow testing
I usually create a rough drawing to use as a reference.
Watercolor and sketch are the easiest ways to test your perception of light and its representation in an artwork. It is much faster than doing the same in pastel, acrylic or oil, especially if you are a beginner and you have to learn everything: composition, values, contrast, perspective and color mixing, as well as brush stroke. Adding visible areas of different values helps. Most people, who draw and paint frequently, assume it an organically critical and absolutely necessary aspect of painting.
Spring walks in the village, is a large painting, 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm, and so was its sketch, the other is Spring barn, also 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm
Black ink pen for sketching out your subject.
Spring colors, cheerful and lovely, yet simple
In order to check your values, you can turn paing image into black and white.
All of these paintings make use of perspective: linear and atmospheric. Therefore, direction of light becomes very important.
Art classes: Art classes
Enjoy!
Absolutely agree on your point that without lighting it can look flat. I’ve been studying lighting for quite a while and I myself do find top left seems to be my default direction in which that light is coming from for outdoor scenes.
By the way, loving the paintings. I’m hoping to pick them up again and practice more this year and your blog is rather inspiring to me. Great stuff here!
Thanks! I’ve been painting and teaching art for many years, decades actually. I noticed that most people who started to paint did not pay any attention to direction of light, therefore, I thought it would be important to remind about that. However, there is so much information at the beginning that one really needs time to absorb it. You are past that point since You have discovered where your light should be. It isn’t anything very difficult, but without the light and its direction on our subject or subjects it will be impossible to create anything meaningful, unless, it’s a total abstract.
Absolutely! It can be a hard thing to understand for most. Lighting should always be taught – it’s just up to the artist of how they want to use it (or when). But it definitly adds life to a piece!
Thanks so much and also for recognizing the importance of this aspect! That’s true, no painting should lack decent light. Good luck with your art and lots of pleasant moments creating it!
So glad to see you back! I hope all has been well with you!
I enjoy your posts, they are so informative!
Blessings~
Thanks Robby! I was very busy with medical writing, and I am also trying to get another surgery. Just heading out to see a doctor today. Thanks again for your nice comment!
I hope everything works out well for you, Inese!
You are welcome.
Blessings~
Thanks! I hope so, too. Well, I’m not even having the surgery date yet, so, it’s still waiting.
Sorry, you are still waiting!
BLessings~
Our health care is extra slow here. It can take a very long time to get to somebody, think many months or even a year.
WOW. I am so sorry, I had heard some stories about long waits.
<3
I wonder about many very obvious things. As it appears the big systems and large countries have no easy way to fix anything.
I know!
That’s how it is, unfortunately.
I’m sorry.
It’s ok. Surgery will be in 2 first weeks of May, up to May 16.
Inese, I am glad you got your surgery scheduled! I will be praying for you.
I just saw this, Sorry about surgery. I hope things work out soon.
Blessings~
Thanks Robby! Well, sometimes surgery is needed. As opposed to surgeries which people do unnecessary, like for implants or beauty surgeries.
I know, I wonder about some people!
I’ll be praying for you!
<3 <3
If it was possible I could have gotten treatment overseas very quickly and safely. Unfortunately, I had not renewed my passport in a timely manner, so, I couldn’t get an insurance coverage and, therefore, it was out of question.
Oh, no! I’m sorry!
Well, it should be fine at the end.
I pray so, Inese!
Thanks, Robby! I will know more tomorrow. Thanks!!!
I hope you got some good news!
I got a family doctor finally. After 5 years. I have to do lots of tests now.
I am so happy to hear you finally got a family doctor! I hope the tests go well. I’ll be praying for you!
Thanks! I got. It took very long. I need now tests done, renew passport before surgery and do all kinds of things and preparations because previous time I relied on doctor and it all went wrong.
I’m sorry you have so much to do first. Hopefully, there won’t be any complications.
I think it’s better to be well prepared. I hope so too that this time I will be watching every move of doctor, every prescription and I will make arrangements with homecare. I won’t allow this time everything to worsen so that I have to go to emergency like 2 times a day. I know that they are not reliable, and I know that I have to check everything. It should be better. I also refused from general anesthesia, I can tolerate everything well with just the local. Much better than to wake up and get absurd pain. It must be better this time.
I enjoy reading all of your tips and comments about painting Inese…. Each time I do a painting I do learn a little more…. Hope all goes well for you and surgery…. I’m also having back surgery on the 3rd of April… Diane
That is great! I do not know when the surgery will be yet, it would be nice sooner, but I literally have no access to doctors to speed up something. I will find out something on March 20. It’s simply terribly painful. Like right now, I have to simply stop what I am doing and take a break.
I hope you have better experience with your surgery than I did with my previous.
I sometimes feel so helpless because of this doing-nothing health-care. It is absurd. It is a crime literally to simply watch people deteriorate. Especially when I recall how I arrived here perfectly healthy.
Maybe you have more reasonable and just a normal doctor. Some of them should be studying something else. April 3 is not that far. Hopefully you have some improvement.
I love reading your insights and most certainly viewing your beautiful paintings! Good to see you Inese…Hope you are doing much better and that you were able to get the appointments you needed and all went well!! SEnding blessings <3
Thanks, Lorry! I wish I was done with this issue, but still waiting for next appointments and do not know the next surgery date.
I will keep you in my good thoughts and prayers, Inese. Hope it all goes smoothly…<3
Thanks! It’s more than 5 years. It’s about time.
You really master the art of light … Interesting to read about this… FRom the left or left and behind: to be honest I wouldn{t have guessed it here… The paintings are beautiful. Great job, dear Inese. Love & best wishes 🙂
Thanks so much Aquileana! Sorry for late response, I was dealing with doctors and appointments all week. I will have the second surgery in May, they think May 16 or so.
Well, everybody who does drawing or painting knows that they have to watch direction of light. I personally cannot paint scenes where light comes from the right side. In my paintings and drawings light always is from the left or at least somewhat from behind. I even cannot perceive well enough art that is done with light coming from the right side. I unintentionally would choose such scenes even outdoors. I wait until the sun is where I need it and then sketch or paint. I believe that most people see art like that, although not all of them do pay attention to this. Maybe people who are left handed see it vice versa, I never asked anybody. That is all about our brain. Drawing is similar to writing. We all have a unique handwriting. When you look at portraits you could see how most portraits somehow resemble the artist. I don’t mean exact similarity, but when you look closer. We always write ourselves, we paint ourselves and we speak out ourselves. There is no need to ever try writing, painting or drawing and speaking like somebody else. That is a very unique feature. Realistically, every single person who can write manually, can also draw. Just like all newborns can swim. We have it. Whether we take it somewhere, that is another question.
Thanks for sharing such beautiful, thought-provoking insights with me…. Best of luck with the surgery ahead, dear Inese, I will keep you in my prayers <3
Thanks! I just published a new paintings and new suggestions for drawing.
Well, there is still a month. I hope this time it will be somewhat easier.
Once again, I will try to raise some money before I get into the surgery and treatment. Please share the newest posts. I will try to publish more art for sale.
Hope everything works fine…. I just shared your newest post on Twitter. Hope it somehow helps … Sending love & good energy! <3
Thank you so much, Aquileana! I am quite bad with social media because I rarely have time for that. My appearance is very fragmented there. Anything helps. I do feel I have absolutely no exposure because lots of people who do art and whose works are way worse have actually much more exposure. I know I should be more active, but as you see I am on and off because of health. I have decided to post more frequently. Let us see if I can keep up with this intention.
It is my pleasure. Being an artist as you are, It is extremely important that you focus on what really matters… which is not (of course) Social Media. 😉 I mean it! 😀 Keep on posting on blog and creating amazing stuff… Hugs! 🙂
Yes, we cannot do everything, unfortunately. I do prioritize my art and medical writing and research. These 2 things are what I do most. It is at some point very silly that in order to attract some attention one really has to put in lots of hours in doing what they do not enjoy, like I do not enjoy Facebook at all. However, I use Messenger and I still get some blog visitors via Facebook. I haven’t seen any coming from Twitter, however. Thanks for your help, it is always much appreciated!