Wow, I can't believe a whole month has gone by already. I thought I would post a little update related to some of my current art activities. Some of you might know I am very enthusiastic about colour. This morning, there was a window of my preferred lighting conditions (to give as accurate representation of colours in my at as I can). So took the photos for my most recent painting, 'Rainbow Magic'. I don't have studio lighting suitable for photography of my paintings, so the best full spectrum lighting have available is outdoors. However, this can also be challenging, as outdoor light can have too much glare or sky reflection or be too warm or too cool. Yes, there is not a standard 'natural light,' outdoors or indoors. Also, 'natural light' can vary with the season, weather and even where in the world you are. Artificial lights may range from warm to neutral to cool. I think standard consumer lights aren't the best for photography, although I still need artificial lighting to work on paintings. Here, in New Zealand, colours tend to look vibrant. This is mainly because of the lighting, as colours look a bit greyer on an overcast day. Plus our lakes and rivers tend to be clear rather than muddy. In general, my original paintings still look more vibrant and have more nuance than the art prints, although, this can depend on the lighting (artificial lighting tends to look more muted and often very cool or very warm). I take the photos myself, prepare the files and have them printed as ordered with a fine art printer in New Zealand. My preference for photos of art is in the morning when the light is 'neutral' (neither very warm nor very cool). It might sound counterintuitive but on a bright sunny day, there is a cool cast on colours. This is because of reflection from a blue sky. So on a sunny day, you might feel hot but colour temperature is cool (blue-ish). Shadows are even cooler. Overcast days have reduced chroma (so greyish colours). When the sun is low in the sky at sunrise and sunset, the colour temperature is typically warm (orange-red). A favourite time for photographers and artists for photography and paintings is 'golden hour' when shadows are long and the light is warm. However, this light is not the best for the most accurate colours I want for more neutral light. My preferred lighting (in New Zealand) for the most accurate colours of my art, is in the morning. Before the Sun is directly overhead (too much glare and too much blue). When the Sun is on approximately a 45 degree angle but not too warm. With some light cloud, so that the light is diffused and there are softer shadows. There may be another opportunity in the afternoon when the Sun is on a similar angle. The actual time doesn't matter, as it's more about the angle of the Sun. Although, afternoons can be an issue of having interference from heat radiation off surfaces heated up by the Sun. I want softer and shorter shadows to avoid any texture in the painting (eg canvas texture) to show up exaggerated bumps and highlights. No shadows means overcast and reduced chroma. Essence of portraitsI am currently choosing a palette for another portrait. Of a fellow artist who also is passionate about colour. Some helpful feedback was that I am capturing the essence when I do a portrait. Not a reproduction of a photo. This perspective has helped me to let go of the burden of expectations of portraits (and why I haven't accepted people portrait commissions). I specialised in portraits when I was doing art at school. We had the choice of portraits, landscapes or still lifes. I chose portraits (viewing them as the hardest) and I was good at drawing portraits. However, I wasn't very confident painting them. I feel more confident now, after years of painting other subjects, with the occasional portrait here and there. I always wanted to paint portraits well. But portraits tend to have this weird expectation that they are supposed to look exactly like a photo (probably with a currently admired genre of 'hyperrealism'). Thing is, photos lie. The main reference photo I was working with was very dark with lack of detail and some of the spectrum colours missing. Yes, technology isn't really that accurate. Plus, we have our own perception and interpretations. Isn't that what being an artist is about? Current Colour ProjectsNow, that I have the photos of the portrait (before varnishing, so there isn't extra reflected light interference), I need to do an isolation coat, then when that is completely dry, varnish the painting. I will probably choose a gloss finish for this painting. I have added an extra coat of gesso to another canvas for the portrait I am doing next. I am still thinking over the palette but I think it will be mostly cool, as this reflects the model's preferred painting palette. Mostly cooler with more recently some bolder pops of colour. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. My A4 art journal fell to bits when I dropped it on the floor. Bit disappointing, as I bought a 'premium' brand one, rather than a budget one. The binding was pretty useless. Anyway, I have decided to go to a smaller A5 journal (in the previous budget brand). I took photos of the pages within my art journals before starting to cut them up. I'm going to select out some of my favourite colour mixes and put them into an A5 album. I also bought 5 brightly coloured fabric samples from on sale (approx $5 for the lot). I intend to add some more. Related to my hobby of colour analysis. I think 'seasonal' colour analysis is way too contradictory and inconsistent, so I am aiming to develop a system based on art and science which makes way more sense to me. I bought the fabrics as references (to convert to digital), of the most vibrant colours I could find (as one can always go darker or more muted). I was gifted a large, white handbag recently. I am not really a handbag person (especially large handbags), so the fabric swatches will be going into the handbag as storage. Will add some more colours, here and there. So, there's plenty to keep me busy. If I do some future portraits, I would like for them to be about people enjoying colour.
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AuthorMinimally edited raw stuff on art journey. Archives
February 2025
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