Appreciating the Use of Light and Color in Art Creation, Essay Example

Introduction

Creating art is a form of expression that humans use to reflect their emotions and their perspectives regarding several matters in life through the use of elements such as lines, textures, and colour hues. All these elements of aesthetics contribute to the value and the meaning that particular artworks represent. For this particular discussion, a valuable use of colour and light shall be given particular attention to based on the experience of the author. Notably, these two elements when used in painting works specifically create deeper meaning that would enhance the worth of the artwork. Nevertheless, the most crucial part of this particular process is the effective application of the said elements in the actual working process.

Basing from the written works of Gombrich and Riley, the author of this presentation created a specific work that intended to test the applicability of the said writers’ ideal presentation of colour and light as major elements used in painting. Trying out how the said ideas actually define the value of the work being created, the author of this presentation hopes to manifest learning and reflective understanding that would bring out the real essence of light and colour in the personal art work that has been completed.

Background of the Artwork

Depicting natural beauty, the author of this written paper created a painting that represents a peaceful meadow with a river running through the middle of the visual and the sun’s rays specifically present within the overall presentation of the said artwork. Notably, in this regard, it could be assumed that the art would comprise of several colours that would define the vibrance of the scenery. The said scenery was chosen to be able to showcase good utilization of both light and colour all at the same time. Notably, the author hopes to get specific inspiration from the suggestions and presentations of both Gomrbich and Riley in representing both colour and lighting to enhance the message of the pattern that is being used in the presentation.

Lively is what the emotional bearing of the artwork would be. Unlike the paintings used by Riley as an example in his work, the author of this presentation would like to use more colour combinations, more contrasting elements so as to test whether or not he would be able to create a massive representation of elements that are found in the scenery without overcrowding the presentation itself. It is also through this choice that the work would be less dramatic that would require deeper interpretation from the audience looking through the work. The art that has been worked on by the author of this paper specifically defines the lighter side of life, hoping to inspire and define life in a less stressing and less dramatic approach.

The Management of Proper Colour Utilization

According to Riley (1995), colour development is an important aspect of defining the focal point of any artwork (40). Carrying into consideration this particular fact, the author of this presentation made sure that the work he made brings about a focal attention towards the small cottage in the middle of the wide meadow. To do this, the author tried to make a specific course of colour selection that ranges from lighter hues to darker hues. To make sure that the cottage would stand out among all the elements that are found present in the scenery, lighter hues were used compared to those that were utilized to represent the cottage. Besides the fact that the cottage was located at the centre of the presentation, it has also been enhanced with darker hues making it stand out from all the other elements that surround it.

As for the trees and the river that runs through the middle of the meadow, the lighter hues work well to represent the delicate contour of these natural forms of beauty in contrast with that of the colour hues utilized to create the cottage’s representation. Although their forms were solid, the colour selection used to define their existence in the scene made it specific that these elements are mere part of the background and that their worth to the overall theme of the work is directed towards the central element, the cottage. Flowers are scattered around to add in life and more contrasting colours to the plain presentation of green trees and the clear river. Nevertheless, the lightness of the hue of the colours used in them made it rather effective to reflect the vibrance of the cottage even amidst the beauty of the colour selections used for the flowers.

Light and Reflections

The supposed primary source of the light in the scenery is the sun which is assumed to shed its rays towards the different elements found in the work. In relation to Gombrich’s (1959) written work on lights and its utilization, he mentions that proper use of lighting specifically creates an illusion of the scale of length that an artwork stretches to. It could either suggest a wide range of space or a narrow space that defines the indication of the distances of the elements from each other (51). While photographs use of the actual light, paintings however utilize the decrease and increase of colour darkness to suggest the presence of the element of lighting in the area.

Relatively, for the painting made by the author of this presentation, the sun’s lighting is defined in the scenery through the use of shadows which suggests where the light of the sun is directed to. To those elements that are supposed to be touched or reached by the sunlight, lighter and brighter hues of colours are used. Remarkably, this also creates an illusion of wider space for the meadow and the other elements that are surrounding it. The cottage, being the central element in the painting is suggested to receive great sunlight hence is defined with bright and remarkable colours that make it stand out in the middle of all the elements surrounding it.

Conclusion

What makes an artwork valuable is the meaning that it has or it displays for those who are to see it. The said value is rather enhanced by the proper use of skills by the one who has created it and thus manages to manifest real beauty and message with the utilization of colour and light. As defined through this presentation, it could be strongly agreed upon that the artwork created was rather definitive of the fact that the suggestions of both Gombrich and Riley with regards the proper utilization of colour and light are effective especially if both aspects of artistic aesthetics are applied properly in a particular work. Once their values are realized, both light and colour not only bring life to the artwork, but also increases the value of the work itself as its meaning deepens as perceived by those looking through it.

References:

Gombrich, E.H. (1959). From Light Into Paint. Art and Illusion. Phaidon Press.

Riley, B. (1995). Colour for the Painter. Colour: Art and Science. Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, Ralph (1970). The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Third Edition, New York: Viking, 1970, p. 375.

Gardner, Helen, Horst De la Croix, Richard G. Tansey, and Diane Kirkpatrick. (1991).  Art Through the Ages. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.