Looking at the world with an artist's eyes.

This week the subject of my watercolor class was portraying light and shade to give a painting life. In the studio I had a range of different still life objects set up with directional lights and a list of 12 questions to encourage analysis of warm and cool light, color temperature, soft and hard edges, transparency and the the effect of the native color on which shadows fall. As the students were arriving, I looked out and noticed the wonderful, clear, February light falling on the trees in the yard, casting shadows on the patches of snow, the grassy areas and the fallen leaves. With the questions in my hand, I greeted the class and we spent the first few minutes analysing the light and shade in the surrounding woods. Their surprise in realising that shadows are not all gray or black, that their colors and intensity vary, led to a more successful and fun class once we moved into the studio to paint apples and pears. Next week we will be using light and shade to add interest to a landscape.

Visit my website http://www.lindajonesart.com