Interesting question, isn't it? It does have an answer, and it is hopeful for those who don't draw all that well.
Natalie Wolchover's blog post on the topic (and with that title I nicked) at The Body Odd is very interesting. Beware, you can surf that blog forever, it is packed with interesting things about what makes us tick, and how!
Do you artists paint what your loved ones suggest you paint? My husband has been (repeatedly) suggesting I paint some of the statues of Stockholm. They're landmarks, well known, and people like them, he said. To which I replied "dark blobs against the sky nobody looks at, hopeless to stand there and paint, or horrible camera distortion in a photo".
But one sunny late winter Sunday we were strolling in the city, lapping sunshine to revive us after the dark winter months, and I happened to see one of the statues at this angle I really liked. Although the sunshine was very warm in colour, it reflected so much that the shadows also were on the warmish side. (Yellow buildings help create warmth, too.) So, after a couple of years of resisting, I took a photo in order to paint it. When viewing the photo at home, I discovered to my delight that there was a person leaning against one of the plinths, which could be tied into the composition with the statues. Sometimes I like to put in a humorous touch.
The rider of the horse is one of Sweden's kings, Gustavus Adolphus, who died as a result of a wound acquired in a battel in 1632 which is indicated by the raised leg of the horse. Had he died on the battle field, the horse would be rearing. Four hooves firmly planted shows that the rider died elsewhere of other causes, like peacefully in bed.
I did start a blog post about this painting a month ago, and changed my mind and wrote it as a demonstration for The Pastel Scribbler, the newsletter of the Pastel Guild of Europe. It has now issued, so if you are interested in the demo showing four stages and talking about simplifying a complexe scene, please click here and scroll down to page 9.
Here, I will point out some things not mentioned in the demo article, and go into more depth about edges, as my painting is one of the illustrations for the May Spotlight in the Pastel Forum of WetCanvas.
In drawing, we learn to delineate edges. When painting, lines can be used as edges (as van Gogh and as Sandro Botticelli did with much success), but it is not the only way to go about it. A paintings can be "weaved" into a cohesive whole by how we manipulate the edges. This is how our eyes see. In fact, we do not see the objects we look at at all -- we see the light reflecting off of these objects. Gazillions of photons bouncing around like demented pinballs. It is a complete weave of light. Weaker light in the shadows, and brighter light where the sun shines.
Eye vs Camera
We also see a three dimensional image, due to our stereoscopic vision (two eyes, slightly apart, in the front of the head). We can literally feel distance, as the muscles of the eyes which control the thickness of the lens contract and expand. Test this sensation by looking at something close up, for example a fingertip in front of your face, and then remove the finger and focus on something that is more than 13 yards or meters away. The sensation is very clear.
The camera, on the other hand, has one "eye" only (so far, 3D cameras are being developed) and just as our vision loses sense of dept if we look with only one eye, so does the camera. Photos turn flat, compared to how we see.
The area of the visual field which can be in sharp focus in our eyes is quite small. Normally, we do not think about it, as we move our gaze and the next focus will be as sharp as the first one was (but no longer is when we're not looking directly at it). Try this: look at a corner of your computer screen, and without moving your eyes, try to read this text.
The camera shows everything in a photo in focus. I know, this statement should be elaborated, as photography is an art that can bypass this, but for the scope of this post, it is sufficient to say that snapshots are very flat and in sharp focus. They are definitely not how the eyes see.
So, if we want to paint an illusion of how the eye sees, we need to use some tricks of the painter's trade. Then we can make good use of a photo as a reference, especially if we have a good solid base of having done many studies outdoors so we know well what the differences are. Don't take my word on it, test it! Take a photo of a scene, print it out, go back to the place with the photo in hand and compare what you see and what the camera sees.
Tricks of the Trade
In the below detail picture, you can see a number of them that are useful for the area where you want the viewer to focus:
- Sharper edges vs softer edges/broken edges/lost edges
- Brighter colours vs duller
- Higher value contrast vs lower or no contrast
Lines in the detail (above):
Most are created by a mass of colour meeting another mass, as in the brown foundation of the statue group. The 90 degree angle between the lit part facing left, and the shadow part facing towards you is a meeting of different colours and values, but it is not a drawn line showing the edge. While on the plinth holding the chain, you see a variety of edges. Some are soft, where a colour merges softly into antoher, and they are usually on the same plane. The left one has a softer transition between its shadow side and the foundation, especially in the upper part. That line becomes broken, as it is clearer at the bottom, and less clear at the upper part, and high contrast at the top. But where that plinth turns 90 degrees, two distinct lines add to the sharpness of the corner jutting towards us: one orange-yellow on the lit side, and one red on the shadow side. This is a trick often used by some of the Impressionists, as warm colours come forward.
The flowerpot has one distinct sharp edge to the left, and a more blurred and hinted edge to the left. The cast shadow of the pot is a line of a transitional colour. It is sharper near the pot, and blurs with distance (not visible in the detail). it is a colour which is warmer than the blue shadow, and darker than the lit ground. This exsists in reality, and is caused by the red and orange light having longer wavelengths than blues and violets.
While the statues have more indistinct or firm edges, as they are rounded shapes, three dimensional. A sharp edge comes forward, and lost, diffused, and blurred edges recede and help turn the form.
Skyline
As a sky is a lightsource, more tricks have to be used to handle lines and outlines so nothing is too harshly silhouetted. The edge of the cloud works as a lead-in (marked in red), but it is understated, with soft broken lines, and it becomes diffused before reaching the roof, indicating it goes behind it. To lessen the contrast, most rooftops have blue sky adjacent to them, as a blue sky is darker than a white cloud. The raised center part of the roof is slightly sharper, as it is an identifier of the building, but the contrast is not high, and the colours are slightly darker versions of the sky colours, so they harmonize. While the slanting part of the roof has gotten an outline which tends toward broken, lost, diffused, and similarity of colour -- all to push it back and make it insignificant.
Likewise, some effort has been made to lessen the contrast of the edges of the dark statue against the white cloud. This softens the line and turns the form. A medium blue acts as a transitional colour there. Note that the two legs of the horse which are closer to us have drawn sharp yellow lines indicating where the sun hits them, while the other two legs which actually are as lit have been left without the yellow, in order to recede in space.
Yet another edge exists, one that is not so well known. It is very efficient for creating a special glow in a painting. It is the actual light reflecting off an object which comes visible against a dark background. This is often called Halation. The detail below is from my painting Orchid and Chopsticks. Look at the picture of the whole painting to see how this glow lights up the whole painting, it is quite magical.
The artist is the absolute ruler of her or his world, and can use whatever means they want to make an illusion work. Edge control is a powerful tool to wield in order to achieve a believable illusion of depth and form.
See a larger version of the whole pastel painting Gustav Adolfs Torg (or Gustvus Adolphu's Square in English) in the Works section of the website.
