Recently we added
an informative article to the members' area of The Artist's Road called "Understanding Light in the
Landscape: The Carlson Theory of Angles." It gives the student a crucial tool to make sense of the confusing array of values
seen in the landscape when plein air painting. Normally the value planes, as Carlson explains them,
are, from lightest to darkest: Sky, Ground, Slopes and Mountains, Trees (or
verticals of any kind).
 |
The value planes, as Carlson explains them,
are, from lightest to darkest:
Sky, Ground, Slopes and Mountains, Trees (or
verticals of any kind). |
While under
"normal" circumstances, Carlson's system can be relied upon as a guide to
ordering the four main values in a landscape painting, there are circumstances
during the year when the values get a little topsy-turvy. Spring is one of
them. During the very early spring, just as the light-colored new leaves
emerge, you will notice that the second lightest value in the landscape will be
the new leaves, especially if you are painting into the light. Next lightest
will be the ground, then the slopes and darkest will be the vertical elements,
such as the trees. In a sense, we now have five main values with the addition of a
second lightest tone in the leaves. Carlson's painting above shows this
situation. Fall is another season in which the plein air painter can expand the
value range to advantage. Brightly colored leaves lit by the afternoon sun can
turn the trees into Japanese lanterns of light, trumping the value of the
ground significantly. Carlson also loved to paint snow scenes, as we do. Snow
creates another situation in which values are flipped. When full daylight is on snow,
the snow will become brighter than any part of the sky except that nearest the
sun.
We have been
putting Carlson's theories to use while painting in the Flint Hills of Kansas
this spring. The last of the winter colors of the grasses are still present
along with the emerging new greens of spring. Along the tree-lined creek beds
and sloughs we are finding that the second brightest values are indeed the
emerging new leaves in the upper branches. The scene is at its best in the late
afternoon when the low angle of the sun backlights the trees and creates
luminous pale yellow-green masses that contrast very effectively with the
ochres and russets of the bluestem grasses. In a few weeks or less, the grasses
will catch up to the leaves and we'll lose that wonderful play of color.
We'll be painting more in the quiet beauty of the Flint Hills over the coming weeks and
will soon show you some of our favorite landscapes and paintings from the open
vistas of the Great Plains, inspired by Walt Whitman's quote: "As to the scenery
(giving my own thought and feeling) while I know the standard claim is that
Yosemite, Niagara Falls, the Upper Yellowstone, and the like afford the
greatest natural shows, I am not so sure but the prairies and plains, while
less stunning at first sight, last longer, fill the aesthetic sense fuller,
precede all the rest, and make North America's characteristic landscape. Even
(the prairies's) simplest statistics are sublime."
Until then,
John & Ann
P.S. For more interesting in-depth articles, demonstrations and
valuable information, please join us on The Artist's Road.