Chroma is hard to separate from lightness. An important painting point is that mixing paints cannot increase chroma. Instead it tends to reduce it towards muddy grey.
Category Archive: Painting
A distinctive presumed self-portrait of this exceptional woman painter, cropped close, from an unusual viewpoint, using chiaroscuro, colour, and the most amazing fabric textures.
“The Cambridge History of Painting in the Classical World” edited by JJ Pollitt Cambridge, March/April 2015 Hardback, 22.5 […]
Although lightness and chroma can usually be approached successfully using methodical approaches, long experience has shown that hue is much more hit or miss. Developing a good ‘eye’ for colours is generally much more important.
A beautifully lit painting showing a woman servant preparing food, within which is a still life of bread and pots, contrasting their textures and glistening glaze. Vermeer painted it like no one else could – absolutely and exquisitely.
A hauntingly beautiful portrait of a young adult woman lost in quiet thought, made to fit on her mummy. Was she contemplating her eventual death?
Lightness is key to the depiction of materials, textures, edges, and form. Illusions can confound the viewer, and it is vital to map the lightness of your motif to that of your painting.
What do we actually perceive of colour?
A short overview of each of the eleven painters and paintings featured so far in the series ‘Favourite Paintings’, forming a concise history of painting from 1400 to 1914.
This startlingly realistic depiction of idle moments by the side of an alpine stream is composed of bravura brush strokes, dabs and daubs of bright colour. But it is a carefully contrived illusion, in every respect.
The Eclectic Light Company 