BobBlast 256 "Floatin’ or Sittin’?"

BobBlast #256

"Floatin' or Sittin'?"

Welcome back to another BobBlast!

Painters... when you paint a single subject - like a cup, a vase of flowers, a wine bottle, or even a pear... decide what effect you are going for: Is your object going to float or sit? The determining factor is the shadow. Will the object sit and have a shadow? Or will it float and not have a shadow? This issue of my weekly BobBlast features two demos of these effects.

Now, you all may already know this... or not. So the first quick demo is a pear floating in space. There is big, broad even light overall. No shadow or anchor. You can of course, add a background - or even squiggles, random marks or shapes that do not require shadows!

The second demo places a pear in an interior, on a table with a definite light source coming through a window. My placement of the window in the room determines the light source. Other light source choices could be a candle, light bulb, a lamp etc.
After I know where my light source is coming from, then I work with the Pear's shadow. The bottom line is... if your painting looks flat and unexciting it’s probably because you have no strong, single source of light.

The shadow starts at the bottom of the pear - as if it's sitting on it's own shadow. This is how I paint the illusion of an object sitting down and not floating in space.

Just remember... before painting, ask yourself - is it Floatin' or Sittin'?

Bob Burridge,Robert Burridge Studio,Professional Artist Paint,The Arts,California Artist,California Painter,Artist Studio,Working Artist Studio,art workshop,painting workshop,BobBlast,Weekly BobBlast,Burridge,Studio Mentor Workshop,Mentor Workshop,Art Mentor Workshop,California Art Workshop,California Painting Workshop,Anchoring obects with a shadow,Light Source in Painting,