© Site and most content copyright to Peter Weatherill 2017 Some content copyright to other authors as identified
Contrast
CONTRAST & SHADOWS
If you stand in a gallery and survey a range of pictures on the walls,
the ones that beg for closer attention are usually those with good
balance of light and dark areas. Pictures composed by beginners often
suffer from a lack of areas of contrast and are frequently bland in
tones
The eye naturally goes to the point in the picture where the Lightest
light meets the darkest dark and ideally that point should fall close to
one of the Golden Section hot spots.
There is a large section elsewhere in the site on composition, so I will
not repeat too much here, but rest it to say that the difference
between painting a good picture and an excellent one can be merely a
question of ensuring that contrasts are strong enough.
As a keen photographer, I take many thousands of photographs, and a
high proportion will come off the camera as ‘pleasant’ images. Once
looked at in Photo editing software, they can be adjusted to improve
the levels within the picture and so many times the addition of a
stronger light in the light areas and a stronger dark in the darker ones,
makes a vast difference. The view on the left is just as it was taken by
the camera.
The p[hoto on the right was adjusted to ensure enhanced contrast
levels.
THIS IS A SMALL BUT VITAL TOPIC.
I cannot impress too much, the need for contrast in a
picture. Many an artwork can be improved by developing
more shadow and more contrast.
Remember that you can’t show light in a picture
stronger than the white of the paper, and that is
far less powerful than light in the sky in real life.
You can’t show the sun successfully, unless it is
Dawn, sun in mist, or a sunset - all when the
power of the sun is depleted.
This gives me a chance to put in a sunset picture !
In order to get the light effect for the sun, the
rest of the picture has to be very dark.
( This is a photo, not a painting )
You can only show bright
sunlight by
showing the strong shadows
that result.
It can be very tricky turning a dull day on your reference into a sunny day in your picture, as
inventing shadows is not a task for the unskilled. As one who has done several night scenes into
which I have inserted people, I can assure you that working out shadows from multiple light sources
is a real headache.
On the subject of Shadows. Be careful to make them colder versions of the lit colours alongside,
Don’t just add black or grey. Go for purples, blues and complementary colours to show the lack of
light