Upon Reflection

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

In our article, Understanding Light in the Landscape, Part II, we illustrated some of the effects of sunlight on the landscape as the light changes from morning to evening. In particular, we point out the influence of light reflected back from the ground upon objects in the landscape, and conversely, light reflected off of tall objects back into shadow areas on the ground. Both of these conditions can affect the local colors of the objects or the ground, and it is important to understand the why and where of these kinds of reflected light sources. Getting them right can really make the difference between creating a vibrant, exciting painting or missing the mark. Training ourselves to see and then look for these subtle light cues in the landscape is the first step. In this example, we illustrate how much of the three-dimensional forms of the trees are revealed by reflected light and how the color of that light affects the local colors of the trees pictured.

This photo shows our meadow …