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Light and Shadows

Lesson 9 from: Watercolor 101

Molly Murrah

Light and Shadows

Lesson 9 from: Watercolor 101

Molly Murrah

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Lesson Info

9. Light and Shadows

Lesson Info

Light and Shadows

Let's go on to lighten shadows. So we were talking about this before shadows. They're not just gray. If you take a look at the shadows on these pairs, the shadow the pair next to the other pair that it's reflecting a shadow off of the color of that pair moves into the shadow. So there's reflective color that bounces back and forth between off up objects all the time. And so shadows really always have the color of the object that's bouncing the shadow and the color of the object that's receiving the shadow and take a look at the shadow of this teapot. I mean, there are about three. There's a sort of a pinky purple in there, and it moves to sort of a cerulean blue and then down into a yellow green, Uh, shadows is, and they're infinitely more interesting when they have lots of color. In the Now there's a wonderful painter named Elizabeth Kincaid, and she avoids graze altogether, and she'll look for a temperature bias in the object that's capturing, casting the shadow. So like if if the te...

mperature bias in that pair is really, really green, as opposed to maybe having that side. Be very orange or red than that. Shadow will have a lot of green in it and shield work. Create her shadows from the temperature bias of the object that's casting it. Grazer usually warm or cool. And if you're if the light that's casting the shadow is a cool light, the shadow will be tend to be warm. If the lights light that's creating the shadow is a warm light. The shadow will tend to be cool. If you can't discern that difference. Shadows tend to be more on the warm side. They just tend to be more warm than cool. Those both look like photographs. They were. You are realistic here. I was thinking, Okay, now this isn't This is one of my paintings, but it certainly looks like a painting. Um, if you take a look at the shadows behind the plums here, they definitely have color in them. And I think that that's what makes him so striking. You're always painting the effects of light, so an objects environment, the color, the temperature, all of that effect shadow color. So if you have a cool light, then you have a warm shadow. I just said that vice versa, and mornings are usually cooler, and late day is usually warmer, so keep those things in mind, too. But the shadows look like they belong to those plums because they have color in there, not just flat graze cast shadows. Now here's what I'm talking about That is a flat grey shadow. Look at how that pair in that shadow, they don't even relieved. They don't look like they belong together, that para just looks like it's floating. That's a shadow that had that I literally painted while the pair was still wet and the colors from the pair literally bled down into the shadow. It's a much more interesting shadow.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Watercolor101_Week2_Exercises.pdf
Watercolor101_Week3_Exercises.pdf
Watercolor101_Week4_Exercises.pdf
Watercolor101_Week5_Exercises.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

user-9ba4d8
 

I would also recommend this class with some hesitation. This course is a broad and sweeping overview of watercolor painting. It is a good reference course and I will probably be treated like a reference book for watercolors. The skills we covered were valuable. It was beneficial to hear about the watercolor artists that Molly enjoyed and to have a list. The exercises were appropriate. I would recommend this course to someone who likes to know all the details of things before getting started. If you are someone that wants to jump right in this may be frustrating. Obviously, I am the latter. A few suggestions from my perspective....limit the product pushing. The references to Daniel Smith were off putting. I will try to avoid purchasing their products at all costs even if they are the best. It was very difficult to get access to the paint colors that she wanted us to have as some of the names are slightly different than what is available to me locally. I have already taken a beginner color watercolor course which I loved!! If I had not taken that course I probably would have been lost here. In that course(also online) we finished a project for every 10 minute lesson. I learned the basic technique's and it was FUN! I wish this class had more projects to practice that can be completed by a beginner and intermediate. Portraits seem like a large undertaking and it would be helpful to build confidence with smaller and simpler projects. I just felt a little discouraged. Molly is very talented and the work she shared was very thoughtful and showed incredible skill! I am very thankful that she took the time to teach the class and share her knowledge.

a Creativelive Student
 

This course was fabulous. Molly is a great artist/teacher. Her instruction has really unleashed my creativity and given me confidence to create.

jennymak
 

Looks like a really fun class! I'll take it soon!

Student Work

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