Jenny Aitken

studied art and art history at Aberystwyth University. She is an associate member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and exhibits across the UK. Jenny is represented by the Harbour Gallery in Portscatho and Peter Barker Gallery in Rutland and tutors online workshops – for more information see www.jennyaitken.co.uk

coldest blue blooms will be lifted by the warmest red tree trunk. Every bit of colour you place on the canvas should have its answer in another area. In Splash of Light (opposite) the lightest area in the bluebells has a tint of yellow. The darkest areas are cold, deep purple. The soft brown on the right of the tree trunk is answered by the cold ultramarine on the bough above.

Lighting

Woodlands take on so much depth and tonal variation when the sun filters through and bluebells bask in the dramatic light. Painting into the light is a surefire way of creating a dramatic painting. If it’s a grey day, however, keep the colour contrasts and complementaries in mind.

Watch out for the changes in tone as colours go into the light or the shadows. In Splash of Light, I have exaggerated this effect for a stronger illusion of light. The branches block your eye from the light so you see the colour less easily. A purple kind of grey usually works well for this effect, although each time is different. This colour also works well for distant trees, for the same reason: everything loses vibrance with distance.

Take care not to leave the shadows black even if your photograph makes them appear this way, as it deadens the illusion of light. To make it appear as if the light is bouncing around the whole scene, as it does, ‘open up’ the shadows with lighter, more vibrant colour. Every dark area in Splash of Light has a deep colour within it: brown/purple in the tree, deep greens in the flowers. It keeps the shadows an active part of a painting.