Setting the scene
In the second of three articles Hazel Soan explains how to paint figures and wildlife in their settings and suggests an exercise for you to try
In the second of three articles Hazel Soan explains how to paint figures and wildlife in their settings and suggests an exercise for you to try
When I include a setting, it is either because I think it will enhance the main subject, or because the overall pattern of light and shade in the landscape – animals, and people included – has become the subject that attracts me to paint. The location could be an urban street, a desert landscape or a rocky beach but in all cases, the approach relies on the source of the light, its direction and angle, and the subsequent pattern of light and shade it creates, rather than the type of setting.
In watercolour, where white paper represents the light, every brushmark or wash painted on the paper gradually, or partially, obscures the light reflected back from the white surface. The translucent colours allow the light to reflect through their transparent films, the opaque colours block some of the light, depending on the pigment and dilution, and the application of several layers of watercolour gradually moderates the amount of light that can reflect back through the thin films.
Since watercolour paintings are generally built from light to dark, painting a watercolour of subjects in a setting is straightforward so long as each successive brushstroke is intended to deepen or darken the area to which it is applied. The challenge arises when light must be retained within the subject, for example to show that an animal or person is lit against a darker background or lighter in colour than a surrounding hue. This means avoiding the lit or pale area, usually by painting around it. It is the art of not painting (termed negative painting) that makes watercolour a tricky business to master when painting from life.
Looking towards the light
The most straightforward situations for painting figures and wildlife in settings are, therefore, those looking towards the source of the light (usually the sun), because the figure or animal is predominantly backlit and the side of their body facing me is in shadow. This means that the subject can be painted with positive brushstrokes as the form to be represented is darker than the white paper.
If the figure or animal is set against a lighter background, the background can be painted first, with the figures or animals added on top, but if the person or animal is likely to move, I will of course paint it first, and then paint the background over and around the figure or animal when their form is dry. If I am concerned dark colours might bleed into the landscape wash I favour staining pigments in my colour combinations or use a pale undershade to establish the shape, then I can safely cross the figure in part or in whole with the brush and ensure the relative tone remains consistent without lifting colours by mistake.
In a backlit situation, if the background is in shadow, rims of light are visible along the back of the animal or around the head and shoulders of the person. The figures are painted first as there is no light to be retained within the shape and they can be described in full with positive brushstrokes. When the background is applied, the rims of light are allowed for, and avoided at the edges of the background wash.
When backlight is from a low angle, for example at sunset, the figure or animal becomes a silhouette. Since silhouettes are very dark in tone, I paint their shapes onto the dried background to avoid bleed of the deep colour, or I paint a light version of the shape as a guide for the silhouette or paint the shape/s on another page of my sketchbook to use as a reference.
Light on figures and wildlife
When figures or animals are lit from the side and front, there is light over the body and the pattern of cast shade helps to describe the form. If light is strong, bright highlights are ‘painted’ by negative painting, ie leaving shapes of the white paper untouched. When the shapes of light are complex, parts of a figure, rather than the whole shape, are painted, which is not always straightforward. Although I prefer to paint figures and animals without any pre-drawing, a pencil guide may become essential to tell the brush where it can safely paint and what areas must be avoided to retain the light.
Dark against light, light against dark
To make a high-lit area visible in a painting, a brighter/deeper/darker hue is required around it or beside it. Likewise, a shaded area will look more prominent when set against a lighter tone. Those of you who have read my books, or watched my DVDs,
know that the mantra ‘dark against light, light against dark’ runs through my head on a continual loop because tonal counterchange is essential to painting. Consistent direction and angle of the lighting should be echoed across the painting so, in order to maximise counterchange, I set lighter areas of background against darker areas on the figures/animals, and darker areas of background against the lit portions of a subject. This often means moving background features to right and left so they can usefully act as counterchange to enhance the shape of the figure or animal.
The outlines above explain why a setting is never an afterthought. If the setting is to be included in the painting, the intention is planned from the outset, and allowed for in both the painting of the figures and animals and in the design of the composition. The only time a landscape could safely be ‘added’, without planning, is when the figure or animal is backlit and the background so light that the tint of colour merely endorses the same tonal setup as the subjects painted against the white paper.
It is, likewise, not advisable to paint a landscape and later decide to add figures or animals without having pre-planned their inclusion. Again, however, if there is a light space in the composition where they can be inserted safely as darker accents set against a light background (and not conflict with other compositional features) then they may well enhance the composition by bringing life and story into the painting. If you keep ‘my’ mantra running through your head it will remind you to set darker tones against lighter tones and set up light tones against darker tones.
Next month: Getting up close
Last month we incorrectly captioned the paintings The Day of the Jackal and Agile. The captions should of course be transposed. Our apologies for our error.