Illusionism: Capturing Luminosity and Mood

"There is no real light on the canvas, just the illusion of real light coming from

 it's surface" I said as we looked at the phone screen exploring the work in 

admiration of Joseph Mc Gurl.  I was having lunch after class with a good 

friend of mine Henry Von Genk ( www.henryvongenk.com ) the other day, 

and he was speaking favorably about a new artist he discovered named 

Joseph McGurl.  McGurl's work displays a fine ability to capture light,

 mood and luminosity through deft use of oil glazing, a skill not often

 practice by artists today.  I thought later, that it would be fun to try to do

 the same painting in acrylics to see if I could get the luminosity using 

acrylic glazes, and extender.

Below: A painting "Transfiguration - Oil on Panel - 20 x 36"

  (for more work by by Joseph McGurl see  www.josephmcgurl.com )

 As you can see there is a classical sensibility , and a highly disciplined level of 

glazing required to achieve this smooth graduation of light and "glow".  I will not

 have the luxury of oil to give me loads of open time, so I propose to show how

 to properly use extender and glaze combinations to buy more open time

 so we could achieve the subtle shift of light we need.   So let's begin.  

I am using Golden acrylics and some Liquitex brands and a small 16" X 20" canvas.

Below: 

First I color washed the canvas with a raw sienna with a small amount of burnt sienna

 and water mix to give a warm base and to "kill the white"!  Then I started the drawing

 with a filbert brush and a mix of burnt sienna and burnt umber, "blocking in" the

 shadows , and creating a halftone effect.  I am not concerned with details.

Above:

Next I worked in some base lighter glazes that would eventually be highlight areas.

  I used raw sienna glaze in the grassy areas, light glazes in the sky to "map out" 

where cloud banks would be, using white and burnt umber, mostly white . 

TIP: With light preliminary applications like this, you set up a tonal base for future darker glazes to help them glow.  Dark on dark won't glow, but dark glaze on light base will!

Then I  premixed piles of paint in subtle ranges of light yellows, to blue greys.  My goal
 is to apply each portion in a map-like way, but then blending the two wet 
edges together to make a new set of blended colors creating a "lost edge "effect
 You will not get this perfect the first time.  It may come out too dark or too light,
 too blue or yellow, but glazing layers can fix that later, and will "mix in the eye".

Below: You can see I am adding more layers and working some sky color into the water areas.

Successive layers of glazes in the sky, yellows, oranges (with white) light purple

 neutrals glazes, blue grays, burnt umber glazes overlap to create multilayered mixes

 in the eye.  In the grasses I added combinations of raw sienna and versions of

 glazed greens with chrome green, and sap to "colorize the halftone".   I  made

"muddied greens" (for shadows, using burnt umber and some purples mixed into

 the chrome and hookers green for the shadows and cool dark greens. Don't over

 simplify your greens.  It is good to have a variety of green mixes here, nature is

 complex.  I add touches of extender in light yellow and white to enhance

 the glow in the sun area, blending it out to create light rays.

Already you can see it coming together.  The sky color in the water is getting 

weaved together to set up the light base for the dark glazes yet to come.  

Some artists may leave it bright like this, and it would be OK, but I am setting 

a goal of having that mood lighting that is evident in Josephs work.  So stay 

tuned for the final portions of this.  I will deepen the sky tones, maintaining 

the lost edge effects, deepen glazes in the water to add mood 

and depth to this painting.  

 

PART 3 At today's class the steps below were the final steps 

to close the aperture on this light show!

As you can make out a blue glaze was added in several locations throughout 

the painting to deepen and cool the shadows.  I also added a richer mix of 

chrome green, cerulean blue and white in a glaze in the sky area and a thin 

version in the clouds and water.  I came over the bottom corner with some 

glaze afterwards of burnt umber to deepen that still. 

Above :

you can see how I began "pulling up the lights" like turning up a light switch.

  By setting yellow oxide next to yellow, next to white, you get subtle shifts

 in relationships that tell the eye a lot of light is shining there. I added a

 bit of cool purple glazed into the water below that as a compliment

to the yellow on the color wheel.

You should be able to move this piece around to 

get a closeup view of the various elements of the artwork.