Project - Reflected Light

Exercise - Study of light reflected from one object to another

I was a little confused about what I was supposed to be looking for in the reflected light and shadows on this exercise and I don't think the example given in the course notes was very helpful. My drawing shows some areas where the light reflecting from the shiny metallic surface of the pan, lightens the surface directly around it and the shadows that are being cast.

Study of reflected light from one object to another

Exercise - Shadows and reflected light and shade

 This was another interesting exercise which highlighted for me the difficulty in determining reflected light areas from reflections of the other objects and surroundings. This I found particularly difficult when the subjects were dark coloured as mine where.

I did enjoy this exercise working at a larger scale with charcoal and putty rubber.

Research Point - Patric Caulfield

Patric Caulfield studied at Chelsea School of Art from 1956 to 1960, and the Royal College of Art from 1960 to 1963.  Following the New Generation show at London's Whitechapel Gallery, he became associated with Pop art, a label he always denied, seeing himself more as a 'formal artist'.

Caulfield’s work: positive and negative shapes

Much of Caulfields work depicts everyday objects and scenes. They often have very limited tonal ranges as can be seen in his White Ware screen prints.  In these works, he concentrates on the use of negative space to  outline the subject, that combined with the selective use of solid areas of colour give the impression of a collage of cutout paper shapes.  On looking at these works, I find myself wondering what the scene really looked like in front of him as he was painting. Some of the shapes suggest obvious light sources such as a shaft of light from an open door or window in Arita Flask - Black, but in others, for instance Large White Jug, the light source seems to come from behind the jug, but the jug also appears to be illuminated from the front.

Check and Log

Separating cast shadow from reflected light and shade can be very difficult particularly in objects that are highly reflective such as smooth stainless steel. I found that the reflections of surrounding objects  played a much greater part, obscuring any reflected light. To make the reflections look convincing I found it necessary to observe their shapes very carefully and try to understand why the reflection has been distorted in the way that it has.  Its like looking at the concave and convex surfaces of a spoon - why is one reflection turned upside down?