Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Striving for Luminosity...


7.5 x 5.5 inches
Acrylic on collage paper

I was reading "Color and Light for the Watercolor Painter" by Christopher Schink this morning. He has devoted a few pages on achieving luminosity that were inspiring to re-read.

Schink suggests that; "To create the illusion of glowing areas, paint your subject using light to mid-range values only --no pure whites and no darks." There are a lot of inspiring illustrations to motivate you in this wonderful book.

So here's my attempt, but in acrylic..... It was so very hard not to reach for the darks!!! This was really a stretch for me. I included the black and white photo to show that I really didn't go past mid range...



When might you use luminosity? When trying to paint lanterns, glowing windows at dusk, maybe candlelight... When the light is emanating from something, not shining on something. It would be a great skill to have in your arsenal... I'm going to keep practicing. :)

3 comments:

Debra said...

This is beautiful - very nice!! What size is it?

(my only nit is the dark line on the back edge of the table; it is a little distracting, but that might just be me)

Lauren Everett Finn said...

Hi Debra...
I added the dimensions...(an oversight...oops!)

This was just an experiment... I agree, I should have been more careful with my b/g wash. Laid it in a bit short. I was just trying to see if I could achieve that glow, like in the book... It would be more convincing with a different subject I think. You just know I'll be trying it again. :)

Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lauren, Very cool floral! I think the colors make it interesting. It has a luminous feel to it. I like Christopher Schink's book; I pick up every now and then to expand my understanding of color.

I scanned the entries I missed. It's always fun to see what you're up to.

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