Shadow Play

This is probably going to be a frustrating entry to read.  You see, the picture I'm going to be talking about is too large to scan on my printer; the paper itself is too big and therefore won't go on the printer's glass.  Bear with me as I try to explain what I mean by the title "Shadow Play".

 

I am working on a study for another painting, the one I thought I would work on concurrently with "Road to the Lake".  Clearly, that didn't happen.  Partly a logistical problem - remember those word problems in math?  If A gets on the train at point 9 and B gets on the train at point 3, who eats his apple faster? This will sound like that.  If I have a wet painting on my easel, where do I put that painting in order to begin a new one?  If I have two wet paintings, how many bottles of Windex should I buy?  Seriously, the wet paintings part is a semi-problem.  The other, more serious issue is that I needed to study the subject more closely by drawing a second sketch.

 

My subject (a photograph from K's recent world travels - and I have permission to use it) is an alcove with a bookshelf filling the space.  There are non-book objects on each shelf and a curtain looped back to the side of the alcove.  Very dramatic, super colors, terrific choice of subject in an awesome photo.  And one reason it is so dramatic is that there are two light sources from two different angles.  Each light casts a shadow in a different place within the same narrow alcove.

 

You see, each light source creates its own shadows so when the lights are close, they cast overlapping shadows.  Well, that may not sound too bad, but the shadows not only overlap, they are of differing intensities.  And that means that one shadow is very dark and the other one is lighter.  Now think about the intersection of those shadows; you're right!  That area is still a different value - a medium. 

 

After Sharon pointed that out to me (I had noticed it, but hadn't really looked at the shadows or thought about them), I knew I had to draw the subject again and this time sketch the shadows also.  It was fascinating! 

 

Once this new painting is underway, I'll show you (and refer you back to this entry) how I'm dealing with the shadows.  Remember, then it won't be just a value problem (light or dark), it will then also be a matter of color.

 

Wonder if I'll still find it "Shadow Play"?