Painting Shadows - Any Tips?

[Kathy B.]

Hi, I'm having trouble getting the hang of painting shadows.  I will plan to re-watch my Mastering Color course this weekend.  I think adding blue or purple will help.  But any advise members can offer in the art of painting shadow will be very appreciated.  I am mainly using acrylics, recently have started using open acrylics (interactive, slow drying type) and new to oils.  I do landscapes and am working one portrait at present.  Shadow painting is something I battle with constantly.   Any tips? (I promise to post a painting as soon as I get one that's half way decent)  Thanks to all.  Happy New Year. Kathy Brooks

[Steve Kohr]

Hi Kathy - one thing you can do is to paint the shadow with the complementary color of the light source.  So in other words, if the light source is yellow, paint purple into the shadows.  If the light source is reddish in color, paint greens into the shadows.  Taking this further, consider coloring your shadows with any color other than the color of the light source.  This can help to enhance the contrast of light and shadow, thereby enlivening your painting.

[Kathy B.]

Hi Steve, Thanks so much, this never occurred to me.  I had been darkening the color of the object casting the shadow with terrible results.  You have provided some valuable advice here, and I will do some practice with small studies using your advice here.  Thank you very much for the reply and help with this.  Best regards, Kathy

[Annie Cullen]

Hi Kathy - I agree with Steve. It also depends on the intensity of the light. If the sunlight is bright the shadows will be dark with hard edges - if the light is soft they are more subtle. They also get lighter the further they are from the object casting them. Its good to keep some of the local colour within the shadow - not blending too much.

[Terry Lund]

Hi, So strange.  I just checked in to ask about shadows, too!  So, thanks to you both for excellent advice!

Later, Terry

[Lyn Best]

great to find all these great tips ... thanks

[Kathy B.]

Hi Annie, Thank you for that great advice, things that never occured to me!  I sure appreciate it.  Sorry to take so long to reply, just now found this again.  Appreciate it greatly.

 

Regards

Kathy

 

Annie Cullen said:

Hi Kathy - I agree with Steve. It also depends on the intensity of the light. If the sunlight is bright the shadows will be dark with hard edges - if the light is soft they are more subtle. They also get lighter the further they are from the object casting them. Its good to keep some of the local colour within the shadow - not blending too much.

[Kathy B.]

Hi Terry,  I know what you mean.  It seems when I see them painted, they look so easy.  But when I attempt to paint them I find it more difficult to make them look realistic myself.  These are great tips here.  Sending regards, Kathy

Terry Lund said:

Hi, So strange.  I just checked in to ask about shadows, too!  So, thanks to you both for excellent advice!

Later, Terry

[Annie Cullen]

I think this forum is great that we can learn from each other.

[Kathy B.]

Hi Annie, I sure agree.  I've been away from the site for some months. But will be more active now.  I'm starting a 'beginning oils' (live) class later this month. I've been using acrylics mainly.  I purchased Richard's course, some while back, and it's been one of the best investments I've ever made; I learned so much - and routinely re-watch those lessons.  I haven't studied art since 1970 (etching back then.)   But, I'm with you, we sure do learn so much from each other.  Have a good day. Sending regards, Kathy

Annie Cullen said:

I think this forum is great that we can learn from each other.

[marilyn woodcock]

Thank you steve and annie for the great tips. I was wondering about the same thing.

 

[Annie Cullen]

Thanks Steve - I like the sound of this - I also make mistakes in the colours of shadows at times - and although I add the compliment of the local colour of the shadowed area it doesn't always work. Taking note of the light source colour makes sense - (and you can tell I come from 'down under' by the way I spell colour!

Steve Kohr said:

Hi Kathy - one thing you can do is to paint the shadow with the complementary color of the light source.  So in other words, if the light source is yellow, paint purple into the shadows.  If the light source is reddish in color, paint greens into the shadows.  Taking this further, consider coloring your shadows with any color other than the color of the light source.  This can help to enhance the contrast of light and shadow, thereby enlivening your painting.

[Annie Cullen]

Thats interesting - I'm going to try that too!

Stephen Williamson said:

Hi Kathy. I'm struggling with this too (a lot) and can't wait to get some of Richard's DVD's.  I did notice something really cool the other day that seems to be helping me.  I take pics with my iPhone of things I want to paint when I'm on the go, and download them to my laptop later.  If you zoom in on the picture to see the pixels, it reveals a lot. For example, I took a picture of a reddish longhorn calf and another one that is white.  The shadows on the white longhorn are shades of cool blue while the shadows on the reddish longhorn range from blues, grays and even some green in specific areas.  Of course, when you zoom out, it isn't as apparent and just looks natural. Anyways, I hope this helps you.