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Painting cast shadows with acrylic
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Message
Posted
I'm doing a big painting of a Venetian palazzo. I'm finding it difficult to get realistic cast shadows when they fall across a multi coloured surface. For example the shadow cast by a balcony over the window directly below. A typical window in the building I'm painting is set into a brownish brick wall, The edge of the window recess is white stone or marble, the shutters are often a dull green. If I paint a grey blue wash diluted with acrylic medium to represent a cast shadow, it gives a shadow effect on the white stone, but it doesn't look good on the brown brickwork and the green shutters which are a darker tone. If I mix three separate shadow tones for each of the materials, it's quite difficult to do and it's not much better.
I'm sure it's just a question of practising for years until I get it right, but are there any members who can give me any advice?
I should add that the photo I'm using was taken on a dull overcast day in March, the actual cast shadows are fuzzy and indistinct. I've replaced the grey sky with a bright blue sky, so I've had to imagine how the shadows will look on a bright sunny day.
Edited
by keora
Posted
Difficult, and a dilemma we've probably all faced and dealt with in different ways. I think I'd suggest a uniform shadow colour over the whole shadowed area - say ultramarine and burnt sienna as a good neutral tone - and then glaze selectively over that with warmer or cooler versions of the shadow colour as appropriate - eg, over the green, try a glaze of burnt sienna, plus a little blue, over the tone you've painted. Try replicating the colours you've got on a scrap of paper, and using this method to see how it looks there before tackling the painting itself.
There are other ways, but it looks as though you've tried them and aren't satisfied with the result; the most obvious alternative is to prepare separate shadow mixes and apply them as glazes over the different colours as appropriate, but that will probably give you a somewhat "bitty" effect, and there's also likely to be a problem with overlap. If you glaze on a base of shadow tone, however, you can adjust the colour, adding a little reflected colour perhaps, until you've got something you're happy with.
Posted
Thank you both for your advice.
Robert, I've been using mainly a burnt sienna/ ultra blue mix for cast shadows. I'll give it another try using the techniques you recommend.
Pat, the link to the painting website is very useful, I didn't expect that there would be anything on the subject of shadows on the internet.
Posted
And of course you don't have to glaze - you could mix your shadow colour as a darker tone of the colours with which you've painted your wall, or shutters or whatever, and paint it into or on top of the base colour. Different approach, requires a little blending (achievable if using a medium or retarder - or just working fast) or you can scumble a dryish dark tone over the base colour.... all sorts of ways to try, and it would be interesting to know which you find successful in the end.
There are of course those who just use a violet glaze irrespective of any local colour - the trouble with that is that it ALWAYS look like exactly what it is: a violet glaze, which you can read as a shadow if you want to, but it requires a suspension of the critical faculties which I find very difficult. Same with Paynes Grey - I see Phil's suggestion, but I've never used Davey's Grey; I read it described as a "beautiful colour", but having seen it in watercolour I can only imagine they were thinking of another medium, because I thought it pretty horrid.... (in fact, I remember they were describing it as a colour in oil).