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In Painting Light Volume 17 Hall introduces several classical approaches for suggesting brilliant, shimmering light. Included within the two-hour oil painting video lessons are stunning close-up shots of Hall's classical brushwork, color mixing techniques, in addition to views of his studio as he discusses his paintings of light at different stages.
Through his in-depth, step-by-step approach, he outlines the processes that were used by such painters as Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Degas and Manet. Using a easy to follow teaching approach, Hall reveals the mysterys behind creating dazzling paintings filled with light, covering such topics as establishing the foundation forms, understanding the light source, studying the patterns of light, contrasting warm and cool colors, and dark and light values.
Hall has taught art for over twenty years, and currently is an Professor of Art at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York. ARTNews
Magazine critic, Gerard Haggerty, states that Hall Groat II's
still life paintings evoke the big picture that we call art history, including painters like Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Edwin
Dickinson, and his teacher Lennart Anderson." Collectors of
his work have expressed that the work is "Alive, full of grace
vitality and beauty, capturing light that is sublime in nature."
DIRECTIONAL LIGHT
Directional light stems from a specific slight source such as a lamp, candle or the sun, illuminating one side of a motif, whereas Ambient or Resonant Light is light that is very general and comes from all directions.
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NOTES ON PAINTING FORM LIGHT
Light enhances the three-dimensional illusion of the subject, adds drama and defines the planes that make the form appear to recede back into space. In classical paintings from the 15th-19th century it's impressive when the image in the painting seems so life-like that you feel like you can touch it. The “form light” is the area on the subject that is facing towards and illuminated by the light source. In curvilinear forms such as the lemon, (plate 8) the light will slightly gradate around the curvature of the form. As the light moves around the form, it becomes both cooler in temperature and less intense.
The temperature of the front light is affected by the color of the subject and type of light source. When natural daylight is used to illuminate the subject the front light will
appear cool and bluish, and when using an incandescent or tungsten light bulb it will look warm. Most light bulbs radiant a yellow-orange cast, however color correct bulbs (full spectrum light) will approximate natural light and appear cooler.
Before proceeding to paint the form light, wipe away with a paper towel the entire transparent undertone back to the initial white of the canvas or ground, in the areas where the light is striking. This will prevent high-key saturated colors, such as yellow or orange from becoming dulled and less intense looking when painting the light. When working with darker colors such as blue or green this is not as critical.
When suggesting the light striking the forms, apply the paint thickly and with simple, bold, overlapping strokes. Appling horizontal and vertical geometric strokes with a long flat or filbert brush works well. Just avoid applying the paint in little pointillist dot-like dabs, and instead, work towards interweaving the strokes together like the straw of a basket. Take note of how raw and crude the paint looks on the right sides of the three forms (plate 14), and how a few large brushstrokes define the entire light side of the teapot lid. At this point, don't blend; just layer the paint like if you were applying peanut butter on to a slice of bread. Make it look thick and gooey! Work with large, simple brushstrokes through using the biggest paintbrush you can handle. With this particular 8x10 in. piece I used a #10 flat bristle brush to block in all of the lights, working with both the length and width of the bristle wedge. Later on in the painting, these initial bold spots may be blended softly around the curvature of the forms into the shadows to appear more natural looking.
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