N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'Secret Valley'
Oil Painting on Panel
Water is always fascinating, and difficult, to paint. Particularly where reflections play a part.
There are, as we all know, various 'rules' to follow when painting reflections in water. And I mention some of them below. However, it's important to always remember the prime rule, (when painting in a realistic way), which is to allow close observation to make the final decision. This is simply because however much we come to a scene armed with certainties about how things should look, we very often find that observation confounds these certainties.
In the painting above, for instance, the most prominent of the reflections, (i.e., the reflected light on the right hand side), follows, in general, the shape of the light peeping through the trees above, but it is widened and distorted by the flow of water, and there is also more tonal contrast than one may expect, with the dark water.
The reflections of the trees in the middle distance are obscured by the rocks and by the sheen of light, and again this is determined by observation.
This is one of the most famous depictions of reflections on water in the whole history of painting. (And of course the UK's favourite painting!).
See how the reflection of the boats are longer than the boats themselves.
An example of one of Grimshaw's night scenes which are wonderful studies in light, shadow, and reflections. (By the way, for fellow Scarborians, - he painted many pictures of Scarborough, another reason to feel affection for him).
There are, as we all know, various 'rules' to follow when painting reflections in water. And I mention some of them below. However, it's important to always remember the prime rule, (when painting in a realistic way), which is to allow close observation to make the final decision. This is simply because however much we come to a scene armed with certainties about how things should look, we very often find that observation confounds these certainties.
In the painting above, for instance, the most prominent of the reflections, (i.e., the reflected light on the right hand side), follows, in general, the shape of the light peeping through the trees above, but it is widened and distorted by the flow of water, and there is also more tonal contrast than one may expect, with the dark water.
The reflections of the trees in the middle distance are obscured by the rocks and by the sheen of light, and again this is determined by observation.
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'Cotswolds Scene (detail)'
Oil Painting on Panel
In the river area on the left, the broad outlines of the reflections can be seen, but they are broken up by the agitation of the shallow water caused by the underlying unevenness of the river bed, and the proximity of the bridge.
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'River Dee at Rhug'
Oil Painting on Panel
Private Collection.
Deep water is usually slow moving and has a smooth surface. It reflects the sky as well as the surrounding objects. In this picture the river is painted with broad brush strokes, and then gently blended using a large fan brush to get the effect of a gentle flow.
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'River near Rhewl'
Oil Painting on Panel
Shallow water is usually more broken and ripply as it moves over the uneven surface beneath. There is more agitation on the surface and this means that smaller strokes are needed with contrasting tones painted close together so as to get the correct effect.
In the picture above there is variety to be seen, in that some areas have deeper, and therefore smoother water, and also in other places water which is tumbling directly over rocks, suggesting that the paint should be scumbled and broken.
In the picture above there is variety to be seen, in that some areas have deeper, and therefore smoother water, and also in other places water which is tumbling directly over rocks, suggesting that the paint should be scumbled and broken.
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'The River at Lady Bagots'
Oil Painting on Panel
In this painting all the reflections follow the normal rules. But it doesn't necessarily look like it, simply because of all the other factors (the speed and the turmoil of the water, the intervening rocks, the shallowness of the river, and the underlying bumpiness of the river surface, etc) so where we might expect to see the orange/yellow trees reflected, they are not; and the blue of the sky appears, even though we cannot see the sky itself in the painting.
Yet, hopefully, it hangs together as accurate. And the judgement is made, as usual, purely by observation.
'The Japanese Footbridge'
Oil Painting by Claude Monet, 1899, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
This painting by Monet demonstrates that we are wrong if we think that the reflection is simply inverted repetition. In fact observation shows that in the reflection we can see more of the underside of the bridge than we can when looking directly at the bridge itself.
'The Fighting Temeraire'
Oil Painting by JMW Turner, 1838, National Gallery, London
'The Fighting Temeraire (detail)'
See how the reflection of the boats are longer than the boats themselves.
'Greenock Harbour at Midnight'
Oil Painting by John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1893
An example of one of Grimshaw's night scenes which are wonderful studies in light, shadow, and reflections. (By the way, for fellow Scarborians, - he painted many pictures of Scarborough, another reason to feel affection for him).
'Wivenhoe Park'
by John Constable, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
As with the underside of Monet's bridge, which could be seen in reflection because our eye level was higher than the water level, - we can see the same effect here. The red building is reflected in the water, but not the light green lawn directly in front of it.
And again this is because our eye level is higher then the water level. If our eye level was at water level then the reflection would be much more of a copy of the objects above.
And again this is because our eye level is higher then the water level. If our eye level was at water level then the reflection would be much more of a copy of the objects above.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
More hands! Who painted these, and in which work?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Gelmeroda IX'
by Lyonel Feininger, Museum Folkwang, Essen, 1926
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Edward Hopper
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