How To Paint Shadows

Never Paint Shadows Too Dark

Our preconceived notions often dictate how we perceive things so much so that we o
ften don't even really look at what is around us. This is why it is so important
for an artist to really learn how to see (see my other pages on this subject ).
In grade school, we paint a black blob next to the subject to indicate a shadow,
so forever after we assume that shadows are always totally void of light like bla
ck holes in your canvas, in other words.
To see how wrong this is, take a view finder with a peep hole and point it at a
shadow in the landscape or in your still life arrangement. Notice how airy the s
hadows are? They are usually much lighter in color than your mind assumes they a
re.

How To Paint Shadows

Cast and Form Shadows

Cast shadows are cast from the subject matter and fall on another object (like you
r shadow on the ground on a sunny day. Form shadows are shadows that form on the o
bjects themselves on the sides facing away from the light source.
It is important to make a distinction between them because their colors are diff
erent.
A form shadow usually takes on a darker tone of the local color (as you would pa
int it if it were lit by the light source).
A cast shadow from the same subject matter takes on the darker tones of the surf
aces it is projected onto.
The Temperatures of the Shadows Warm or Cool?
Generally speaking, if the light source is warm, such as the sun at a sunset or
an incandescent light indoors, then the shadows on the subject matter will be co
ol. When I say 'cool', I mean cool relative to the temperature of the lighted ar
ea on the same subject matter. If you throw a warm light on a red apple, the tem
perature of the shadows will be a cooler red. So in that case, mix blue or cool
green into the red to paint the shadow.

shadow of an apple in sun light

Bright sunlight usually produces a shadow of cool temperature.

shadow of an apple in incandescent light

Yellow cast indoor lights produce cool temperature shadows.
If the same apple is lit with a northern light (which is generally a cool light
), the light area will become fairly cool. As a result, the shadows will be warm
er by comparison. To paint this, you would mix violet with red to warm it up whe
n compared to the cool lit regions.
apple in northlight-warm shadow

How to Paint Shadows

What Not To Do

Refrain from blending black or brown into the local color of the subject matter
. Ditch your black and earth brown colors if you want vibrant shadows. Use the c
olors from the primary color family.
If you are painting a red apple on a yellow cloth, you wouldn't take black and
ix it with red to make the shadow. The color of the cast shadow from the apple
ill be a darker yellow plus some reflected red from the apple. The form shadow
ill be a darker red with violet or blue in it, depending on the temperature of
he light source.

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Don't paint the shadows too thick. Keep them thin, either transparent or, if op
aque, not a solid dark. I like to describe shadows as spaces that can breathe; t
hey allow air to come through. They are never solidly dark the way you see them
sometimes in photographs.

How to Paint Shadows

Soft and Hard Edges?
Most of the shadows in nature are soft edged. Even the brightest light sources
do not produce as hard an edge as you would think.
So, keep the edges soft to keep them from looking like cut and pasted black hole
s.