Watercolor Reflections and Shadows with “Confidence”

Hello and welcome to another exciting discussion about watercolors.

            Today we will explore the wonderful techniques of creating reflections and shadows in watercolors.

Reflections & Shadows

Getting started, we should prepare our minds for what’s to come. In preparation, we must forget what we have heard - forget what our friends have told us, and remember that the simple fact toward achieving success in watercolor painting, is through its “simplicity.’’ No other medium can boast such a claim.

     

     

Light + Object = Reflection

 

    What exactly is a reflection anyway? We see them every day; we even paint their mystique images. I don’t know about you, but I am always taken in by the sheer beauty of a reflection, especially when appearing on a surface of a beautiful still pond. To understand how to paint realistic reflections, we must first understand the characteristics of the phenomenon. 

            The first thing to understand about reflections is that most objects on earth do not emit their own light. Well, some strange fish do, and also some strange fungi, but we aren’t interested in that today. Instead, most objects reflect the light that hits the object from a different light source, not of their own making. For instance: a big red barn does not emit its own light. That would be really neat, but it doesn’t. So, let’s assume that the sun does that, which it does. Therefore we see the big red barn because light hits the barn and then that light reflects off of the barn into our eyes, which gives us the colorful image of the color spectrum. Now think about this for a moment? Light from the sun hits the big red barn which transmits a reflected light ray of the barn into a small pond nearby, this reflected light ray then continues on by reflecting off of the pond surface into an endless direction until the light rays either become further reflected or eliminated and absorbed into a mountain side. I know light rays are totally neat aren’t they? They literally keep going on until they can’t. How does this help us paint better reflections? Well, that’s easy, all reflections conform to physics. Physics tells us that light rays reflect, or diffuse in certain ways. The angle of the reflection is what really matters here and we want to make sure that our reflections look as realistic and believable as possible.

Can you tell where the light source was coming from?

            It is the angle of reflection that interests us most. So, now imagine that big red barn again. The first important aspect we must consider is the angle from the light source to the big red barn. Where’s the sun, and where’s the barn? The light will hit the barn on an imaginary straight line from the sun. Then, the reflection of the barn will also be transmitted on the same imaginary line. However, because that imaginary line hit an object, it must reflect, or in better terms, it must bounce off of it. But it can’t go straight through it. It must be reflected according to the eyes perspective. If you can see the reflected light side of the barn, you can see the reflection. The same thing goes for reflections in ponds, lakes, and bodies of water. The reflection from the water should be closest to the eyes on the imaginary line. Then follow that imaginary line from the water to the object. Hit the object and bounce off towards the light source. It’s that easy. If you can imagine the angle of the imaginary line after it hits an object, you will be able to demonstrate an accurate example of a reflection. But ultimately that reflection must end at the viewer’s eyes. 

 Shadows of Objects

           

          The same thing can be said about shadows. However, instead of a shadow having elements of light, it has elements of dark matter. A shadow is simply a cast reflection of an objects dark matter, on the direct opposite side of the light source. Draw an imaginary line from the light source directly to and through the object and it is on the opposite side of the light that gives you the location of the shadow.

           

          To create realistic reflections, here are a few pigment considerations. All reflections are determined by the colors of the reflected object. The light rays get absorbed by the object and in turn reflect its true color combination. However, often times a reflection combines with the color matter of the object reflecting it. For example reflections in the water. The reflection of the red barn will have all of the same colors, but also must include a portion of the watercolor. So, using a slightly darker grayer/bluer tone of the reflected object in the water will present a better truism.  Also, note that if the water surface is rough, the reflected light will then be transmitted in irregular directions. This appears as a broken or blurred reflection image in the water. For shadows, they are normally the same color of the object that the other object reflects upon. For instance: the red barn will not have a red shadow on the green grass. It may have a slight tint of red, but the majority of the shadow will be a tone of dark green to dark-grey/green.

Wet Reflections

Light and Shadows

      Physics is a wonderful art in itself, and understanding the basic characteristics of what we see every day, will help us recreate those natural occurrences in our master-pieces.

Understanding the elements creates confidence. Your confidence will take you to new heights. Good luck and create some amazing reflections and shadows. Don’t forget that reflections occur on most objects. So look carefully and find those reflections.