The word shadow has been given an ominous meaning in many cultures.  Kids can be frightened by imaginary beasties lurking in the shadows and dogs will sometimes bark at theirs.  For the artist, though, shadows can become a place where the real intrigue in a painting lives.

      Look at this:

      

In the photo on the left, I see a subject of intrigue, but it is all in shadow. How does an artist interpret this?   

If you squint at the original photo, you will see a frontal pattern containing one large dark shape where the subject lives.  Behind it are groups of middle and light value shapes in a sunlit area.  These background shapes also include shadows, but being interspersed with light, they become part of an overall area bathed in sunlight.  We can see this distinction clearly in the simplification on the right.

 (Tip) When considering a subject in shadow, doing a simplification like this can help you see discover the overall relationship of values.

To help you to further analyze this, I have done an overlay of the photo and sampled from it spots of color in the diagram below.

Click on image for larger view

Within the area of the iris and its surrounding foliage, notice that the lightest values are in the 6-to-5 range on a value finder.  Compare these with the darkest value samples in the sunlit portions. 

 (Tip) The darkest value in a sunlit area is in the same value range as the lightest value in a shadowed area. This principle holds relatively true across the board, no matter what subject you are painting.

Happy painting,

Dianne

P.S.  The left brain can trick us into thinking that the lighter portions in a shadowed area are lighter and more saturated with color than they actually are.  

P.P.S. Why not use the Facebook forum to share small thumbnails and studies in which you're working out these weekly tips.  I would like to see how some of you would do a simplification one of your photos where the intrigue is in deep shadow.