The Color of Light: An Artist's Blog

Chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and dark in a scene, has been employed by artists for centuries as one of the most successful ways to create drama. I've always been drawn to scenes with strong contrasts.  Rembrandt, da Vinci, and Vermeer are well known from employing the technique. 

When I saw this photo of my friend Vickie's cat I immediately asked if I could paint it. I loved the dramatic rim lighting on the cat's fur and knew it would read well as a painting. First I mounted a piece of dark Uart to some foam core board, because the paper was quite curled - an issue Uart can have if there's a lot of humidity in the air. Then I sketched in the drawing and using a mixture of warm and cool neutrals built up the piece dark to light. 

I enjoyed painting this and will be on the lookout for more opportunities to employ chiaroscuro in my paintings!