Gradients: Color, Form and Illusion

MEETS THE GRADE James Gurney continues to make core art theory approachable, whether you’re working traditionally or digitally

James Gurney manages to make complex theories easy to understand. His latest instructional video takes a simple idea – paint colour gradients – and shows how this can be applied to your art.

The principles behind the process are applicable to watercolours, gouache and acrylic, as demonstrated here, or even digital art. The beauty of James’ practical demonstrations is that the ideas transcend the medium.

The video is split into two stages: theory and practice. First we learn the principles with simple demonstrations, such as painting a graduated cylinder. Then we see James put knowledge into practice. He paints four plein air scenes. Each one reveals how the previous principle can be used, literally, in the field.

Which part of the video you get the most from will be determined by your

ability and experience, but there’s always something to learn. If you understand the principles on offer then sit back and watch a modern master eke out a landscape with thoughtful brush marks. He shows how simple use of the theories can pull and push light around a landscape, and how gradients can bring your art to life – contrasting shadows across and below a fern leaf – and make complex ideas simple.

There are further degrees to the training video. We love how James answers viewers questions as he paints. The artist’s responses reveal more of his own personal approaches to plein air, and offer insights and tips to beginners, such as prepping multiple papers ahead of painting ready for any scene. Fundamentally, James’ ability to make art approachable and theory universal is reason enough to watch.

The principles learned previously are then put into practice in one of four plein air painting studies. James shows how graduating colours from dark to light and vice versa can add depth to a painting.

James’ advice on how to use gradients will feed into your approach towards painting shadows. In this chequerboard painting the colour of the light squares in shadow is the same as the dark squares in light.