Conveying a sense of light is perhaps the most important goal the landscape painter sets for himself. In the synthetic two dimensional world of a painting, the illusion of light is governed by two factors. The first is value contrast. Light versus dark. We live in a world of contrasts. Strong value contrasts in a painting connote light, just as they do in nature. As effective as value contrasts are, however, we don’t see the world in black and white. The second factor used to create an illusion of light is color. Our perception of light, in both the natural world and in painting, is very much bound to color. Color in painting can serve as a stand-in for natural light, which is exactly what we see in Border Peak in Sunlight.
Does Sunlight Harm Oil Paintings?
The effect of sunlight on oil paintings is a topic that has been debated for centuries. It was once believed that sun exposure would harm an artwork, but it turns out this may not be the case after all. This article will discuss how sunlight can affect oil paintings as well as what types of damage are caused by overexposure to light.
This is a question that many art lovers ask themselves. The answer to this query depends on the type of artwork, where it will be displayed, and how long you want to protect it. Some types of oil paintings require more protection than others, while some pieces should never come in contact with sunlight at all. When hanging your painting or drawing inside your home gallery, choose an area away from windows, the best place might even be under any skylights you have installed into your roofing system. There are also other ways artists can ensure their work has optimal light exposure when hung up for display. If they don’t have access to windowless rooms within their homes or studios then there are various options available online which block out sunlight.
Oil Paintings In Sunlight
A little sunshine is not a major issue for most oil paintings, but direct afternoon glare should be avoided. The heat and light can have negative effects on the appearance of your artwork as time goes by because it ages over many years with exposure to both UV rays without protection or varnish that protects them from getting damaged in sunlight. While some paints may stay preserved underneath their protective layer even when placed against windows that are open all day long during summer months due to an absence of UV rays in the atmosphere, it is probably best to use curtains or blinds during the summer when exposed to direct sunlight for most paintings.
There are many causes of oil paintings’ discoloration. Here are some:
Direct Access To Heat
Oil paintings are not as durable and will eventually fade with time. Fading starts at the surface level, but you can also expect some other effects like cracks or even destruction of your masterpiece. The most important thing to know about them is how exposure influences their durability, being close to heat sources such as fireplaces can lead towards quicker deterioration depending on what else they’re touching in addition to the type of paint used for its finish.
Exposure To Oil Painting In Direct Sunlight
Exposure to oil paintings in direct sunlight may cause damage to the painting due to ultraviolet rays that are harmful to many materials, including paint pigments and canvas. Even when placed behind glass or in an art storage unit, it is best not to store a portrait directly under strong light. It is recommended instead to keep paintings away from exterior windows where direct sunlight can shine on them all day long without any protection. Oil paintings should also be kept out of enclosed spaces with no ventilation since trapped heat will increase the temperature within its surrounding environment which might lead to cracking of paints over time if there’s too much moisture present inside the room itself. Lastly, humidity around oil portraits must always remain low as high humidity levels can also cause damage to paintings.
Filtered Sunlight If Not More Is Equally Disastrous
While the light from a window is not as intense, filtered sunlight is less harmful than direct exposure to sunlight. Filtered daylight can be beneficial for paintings by increasing surface temperature and accelerating drying time without causing discoloration or other damage. Exposure to natural daylight should still be minimized when possible but if you must have your painting hanging near a window, make sure it’s behind some glass.
Painting light – how to capture luminous light with pigment
Light is the main reason I paint. The beautiful patterns of light and dark, the shafts of sunlight against the dark of a cloud, the way sunlight breaks through the trees etc. It’s also one of the most difficult things to capture. Mainly because you are using something dense like pigment and liquid like paint to capture something more like a gas-lumens.
The best way to capture light is by showing its opposite in the same frame; dark. You can’t have light without dark. Beginners make the mistake of painting everything too light and not showing the dark. But if you really want to see the light, then you have to use darks to set the stage so the light can really be seen.
Sample from my “Painting Clouds, Sunsets & Water Reflections” Class happening at Beach Art Center this week on Tues. 1-4pm
Using paint to capture light is like trying to catch a greased pig. Paint is liquid, dense and would have to be applied in layers to create luminosity. Pastel (in my opinion) is the perfect medium for painting light.
Sample from “Painting Clouds, Sunsets and Water Reflections” Class starting on Tues. at Beach Art Center, Indian Rocks Beach, 1-4pm.
Pastel is the only medium where you can scumble light on top of dark without waiting for paint to dry. You can scumble different colors to create multi-colored light which is what a sunset is. Here’s an example of layers of pastel scumbled to create multi-colored light.
Oil can be thinned with linseed oil or Gamisol and applied in thin layers to create luminous light, but this takes great time and patience. Acrylic can also be thinned to watercolor consistency or mixed with a retarder or gel medium to create layers of pigment and light.
Here’s a detail showing just the section of light close-up. I’m not saying you can’t do this with paint, just that its much more difficult than with pastel.
Ascension, Winter Contrasts of Value and Saturation
Ascension, Winter, oil on panel, 18 x 18 inches. $1,800 USD.
The strategy for depicting light in Ascension is quite different from that used in Border Peak. Value and color are both at play, but the value contrasts in Ascension are much wider. This goes a long way toward suggesting light, but value never works alone. Here, the more saturated pink-orange color on the left is contrasted against the less saturated “brown” colors in the lower right. When saturated colors are played against desaturated or neutral colors, the saturated colors will seem that much more intense. There’s also a subtle complementary reaction between the light pink-orange color and the pale lavender-blues in the shadows.
Snowy Ridge, Early Light Atmosphere Through Reduced Tonal Range and Soft Edges
Snow Ridge, Early Light, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches.
Snowy Ridge, Early Light is a deeply atmospheric painting. Light snow caps along the mountainside melt into a thick blanket of warm light that rises over the ridge. Atmosphere in painting is created with a combination of soft edges and a narrow value range. This formula is not just an aesthetic device. It’s what we seen in nature. If we analyze atmospheric subjects — fog, mist, aerial perspective — we find these same narrow values and softer edges.
Edges occur at the boundaries between elements, where one shape differentiates itself from another. The thicker or more dense the atmosphere, the softer the edge will be. In Snowy Ridge, there isn’t a sharp edge to be found. Along the mountain’s ridge, there are “lost” edges, places where the edges become so soft they merge into the sky.
The full range of values available to the painter range from the lightest light (white) to the darkest dark (black). In an atmospheric painting like Snowy Ridge, that range becomes compressed. In the black and white version of the painting (below), the values are identified at the left. They are closely related, occupying just a narrow band within the potential range of values possible. Creating atmosphere with this narrow range of values is not an artificial construct; it works the same way in nature. When we perceive atmosphere in the form of aerial perspective, fog, or mist, we also see a reduced tonal range.
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