The whole idea seems counter intuitive. You ask, “We are trying to see the subject aren’t we, wouldn’t that work best with our eyes wide open?!?!?” It seems like the answer should be yes, but, most of what we need to lock into is best observed with the non-essentials obscured or simplified.
One of the more important questions we face in creating the illusion of form with a two-dimensional painting is the dilemma of whether to use value or color temperature within a simple shadow or light shape to turn form. As we survey the subject and clearly identify a form change, many times our default seems to be to use a value shift. Often this is the case and a value change is necessary, but we must be sure that this is what we visually perceive or the painting will lose the solidity of mass and the beautiful airy quality that we are seeing. Many times it is a color change that is defining the transition and it is so important to utilize the appropriate means to show the form.
The guideline I follow to best discern the transition is …. what am I seeing when I squint. Squinting forces me to see the value shifts more clearly, reducing the distractions of the reflected lights and darks and color changes. As I am squinting , the question going through my mind is, is it VALUE OR COLOR that is turning the form. If when I am squinting I see no visible value shift, then I must open my eyes to see the color transitions within the simple shape to describe the turning of form! We must keep the lights and shadows separate to maintain the strength of form. We can achieve this by using color temperature shifts and not value shifts. This is very obvious in black and white photos. Again, what is very important here is clearly defining the light side and shadow sides of a form and keeping the two separate.
The beauty and true asset of this approach is that in doing so effectively, we conserve the values using color temperature to show variation in form within each specific light or shadow side without destroying the simplicity of the shape. Why is this so important? So in the end, our paintings have simpler masses and more graphic appeal, while still reading as fully dimensional. So ... try it, use it, and keep Squinting!
This article is a quote from Dan Gerhartz. Dan is a great Christian artist ... google him and see some of his samples!
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Artist Information
- Mitch Mann (615) 289-6727
- I've been drawing since I was four years old. During high school I took all the art lessons I could. In 1984, I graduated from Pensacola Christian College with a BA in commercial art with an emphasis on illustration and graphic design. For the last 24 years I have been graphic designing and illustrating magazines and will continue, but I'm now enjoying oil painting as well. As the Lord directs, I'd love to continue doing so. Please scroll down and view some of my work. The paintings on the left can be viewed larger by just clicking on them. If you would like to contact me about commissions just email me at mitch.mann@lifeway.com.
2012 prices for portraits
- Head and shoulders $600
- Waist-up with hands $1100
- Full Length $1500
- Animal Full Figure $600
Portrait of John S.
John works outdoors and his complexion shows it. Capturing the warm friendly character of John was the challenge. I enjoyed painting this portrait.
Portrait of Carla S.
Carla is John's wife. After I completed John, he decided to have me paint a portrait of his wife. Carla's red hair and fair skin tones were fun to paint. Thanks John, for the encouragement. This couple really loves the Lord!
Heaven ... Will You Be There?
We don’t know when God will allow us to take our last breath. And for all you know, you may not wake up tomorrow morning. Christ could come back in 5 minutes! Now that would be an awesome thing if you know that you will spend forever in heaven, but it is a devastating thought if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, and besides heaven, hell is the only option left. Either you are saved or you aren’t. There is no in between, and it doesn’t matter if you were a “good person”.
Romans 3:10 says “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”, and Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”. Now, you may say that you have never sinned. Lying is sin, and I am sure you can remember a time when you have lied. Or maybe you have committed a so-called bigger sin. You may not have murdered someone, but Proverbs 23:7a says “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”. Have you thought about it or about any sin? Yes, you have. Romans 5:12 tells us where sin came from. It says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned;”. This is talking about when Adam sinned back in Genesis by disobeying God when he ate the forbidden fruit.
Now, there is some bad news and some good news. Romans 6:23a tells us the bad news and it says “For the wages of sin is death;...”, and this means that our payment that we earn when we sin is death (hell). But, the good news is that the last part of that verse says (Romans 6:23b) “...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”. Isn’t that awesome? Christ will give us eternal life in heaven! You may think, why and how would he give us this awesome gift.
Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He gave us this gift because he loved us so much, even while we were sinners, and he was able to do that because he died for us. But like all gifts, it isn’t enough for someone to want to give you something. You must take it, and claim it. And anyone can accept it, no matter what your past contains. Romans 10:13 says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Notice the word “whosoever”. It means anyone! Romans 10:9-10 tells us exactly what we must do to accept this gift. It says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God that hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1 John 5:11-12 also talks about salvation. It says “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”.
God is very loving, but do not be fooled. God is serious. If you do not accept salvation, you will be condemmed to hell forever. John 3:36 says “He that believeth on the Son hath life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”.
You might say, ‘Well, who is Jesus that He can do or offer such a thing as eternal life?’ I love to teach this truth! Jesus is the creator of all things! You are probably thinking that there’s no way that that could be true ... I used to think the same way. However, the Bible is VERY clear that Jesus is the creator. Study the first chapter of John. The verse that I like to show is Colossians 1:16 ... it says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him”. The God who created all things died for us ... to pay the penalty of all our sin. Past sins, present sins, and future sins ... you’ll not be in heaven some day if you’ll not believe that He died for you and ask him to save you. Please do so today!