Today is the darkest day of the year, made extra dark this year by the pandemic. The good news is that from this day on, the days get brighter. I’ll hold my breath on the other.
Today’s post has a collection of low light and nocturne paintings by Sangram Majumdar, one of my favorite painters.
Look for the compression
As light decreases, so does color perception. In low light, the range of values compress into the lower range. The colors compress as well. The colors in a low light situation aren’t just dark, they’re dim. Notice how sometimes Majumdar darkens the values and dims the color, then uses pops of color to represent moments of illumination. Whenever there’s a pop of color, look to see what’s around it to see why that color is so brilliant. Cover that color pop with your finger, and see how much value and color contrast is in the rest of the painting. What percentage of the painting is bright, and what percentage is dark or dim?
Majumdar’s suggestion to painters: try replacing white with color.
Here’s another painter from the list of Carlos San Millan’s favorites: Mitchell Johnson. Johnson’s paintings take urban and suburban architecture and turns them into playful studies of color and shape. The shapes in his recent paintings are large, flat areas of pronounced color theory – almost resembling collage. Artist influences: Josef Albers, Morandi. Place influences: …
“Drawing this way is addictive. I just want to keep addressing every part of my drawing. Time flies. I can’t stop. Been looking at drawings all night and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. I am already sad that tomorrow is our last day.” – Our Provost Lendy Hensley talking about what it’s like to …
[image_with_animation image_url=”8162″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] They started as doodles of cups on legal pads, these thoughtful experiments in color and line by Lendy Hensley. The color concepts were inspired by colorist Josef Albers, the linear compositions were inspired by potter Gwyn Hanssen Pigott. Lendy combined the two, plus quite a bit of her own …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10498″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Martha Soriano Here are some figure paintings from our recent Friday night session. We played with light and shadow colors, and simplification of forms. It’s incredibly enjoyable to hang out with people and make stuff. I think I might have the best job in the world. Friday night, I hang …
Majumdar’s Nocturnes
Today is the darkest day of the year, made extra dark this year by the pandemic. The good news is that from this day on, the days get brighter. I’ll hold my breath on the other.
Today’s post has a collection of low light and nocturne paintings by Sangram Majumdar, one of my favorite painters.
Look for the compression
As light decreases, so does color perception. In low light, the range of values compress into the lower range. The colors compress as well. The colors in a low light situation aren’t just dark, they’re dim. Notice how sometimes Majumdar darkens the values and dims the color, then uses pops of color to represent moments of illumination. Whenever there’s a pop of color, look to see what’s around it to see why that color is so brilliant. Cover that color pop with your finger, and see how much value and color contrast is in the rest of the painting. What percentage of the painting is bright, and what percentage is dark or dim?
Majumdar’s suggestion to painters: try replacing white with color.
Related Posts
Mitchell Johnson
Here’s another painter from the list of Carlos San Millan’s favorites: Mitchell Johnson. Johnson’s paintings take urban and suburban architecture and turns them into playful studies of color and shape. The shapes in his recent paintings are large, flat areas of pronounced color theory – almost resembling collage. Artist influences: Josef Albers, Morandi. Place influences: …
“I FUCKING LOVE MY DRAWING!!!!!” – Lendy Hensley
“Drawing this way is addictive. I just want to keep addressing every part of my drawing. Time flies. I can’t stop. Been looking at drawings all night and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. I am already sad that tomorrow is our last day.” – Our Provost Lendy Hensley talking about what it’s like to …
Homemade, by Lendy Hensley
[image_with_animation image_url=”8162″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] They started as doodles of cups on legal pads, these thoughtful experiments in color and line by Lendy Hensley. The color concepts were inspired by colorist Josef Albers, the linear compositions were inspired by potter Gwyn Hanssen Pigott. Lendy combined the two, plus quite a bit of her own …
Some Figure Paintings, Studies of Light and Shadow
[image_with_animation image_url=”10498″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Martha Soriano Here are some figure paintings from our recent Friday night session. We played with light and shadow colors, and simplification of forms. It’s incredibly enjoyable to hang out with people and make stuff. I think I might have the best job in the world. Friday night, I hang …