Hopefully
Blake will forgive me for that little rewrite, but when I see a painting that
has complicated light effects or diffuse light that seems almost prismatic I
can't help but think of that adulterated line of poetry.
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New York City, Winter 2006, The Storm
by Nina Maguire,
2006-2011, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24. |
It happens
when I look at Whistler's nocturnes and it also occurred when I looked at the
acrylic paintings of Nina Maguire. The latter's art makes me wonder about the
acrylic painting techniques she uses to get her surfaces to look almost like clouded
glass--the colors are clear but they have an opacity to them as well.
The artist's
acrylic landscape painting, especially her snowy winter scenes, shows such
sensitivity to how light reflects off of and spreads out onto the white
reflective surface. The diffuse light changes color as it pools over different
objects, going from bluish-white to gray, green, or yellow.
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Bridge Nocturne V (Tappan Zee) by Nina Maguire,
2006, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 30. |
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Maguire is
also sensitive to how objects that "carry" the light--like snow in motion or
clouds in the sky--can be depicted with
acrylic paint. To effectively paint snow
coming down at a diagonal she uses brushstrokes that follow the motion of the
flakes. Car lights whizzing by are rendered as dabs and streaks of pigment. Painting
this way allows the artist to create visual depth even though Maguire's scenes
are usually quite sparse and show a lot of open expanses of sky or sea.
Painting
light is essential for any successful realistic landscape artwork. 500 Acrylic Mixes gives an inside look
at all the color possibilities that can allow you to create luminous color and
light in your acrylic paintings for just that purpose. It's a resource to keep
on hand and refer to often if you are interested in becoming a true "painter of
light." Enjoy!
