Right now, and perhaps tomorrow there are bold shadows everywhere. It seems wise to put the layer project on hold and practice shadows for a while.
I can see shadows inside the house, and a great many from the windows. Try setting up with a minimal kit and doing numerous quick studies, focusing on a single effect, such as where a shadow passes from one surface to another, changing color. Don't concern yourself with painting a whole scene. This is meant to build seeing skills and technique, and to practice getting the essential info down and moving on.
Here are a few photos I took this morning, with notes about the watercolor variables that come into play for each:
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| Color: changes as shadow passes from one surface to another. Value: darker nearer to shadow source. Wetness: edges soften farther from source. |
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| Color: Shadow color changes with orientation of plane and with proximity to reflected light. |
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| Drawing: To make sense of the shadow pattern, follow one part at a time: The shadow of the newell post, for example, cuts to the right every time it reaches a new riser. Notice how the the shadow of the rail does not zig-zag when it crosses from one step to the next, but everything else does. Hmmm...can you imagine standing in a different spot, where the rail shadow would zig-zag, and everything else would be straight? If you want to carry on with the layer project, take a look at last week's intermediate homework. Have fun |
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