Secondary and reflected light

- Using multiple light sources and reflective color…creates the magical illusion of believability…and pulls the viewer in.…This might be easier to see if we look…at one of my pieces in progress.…The linear structure and composition of my pieces…are always established first as a small thumbnail sketch,…then revised to this larger image.…The final sketch is then copied onto a tone paper,…in this case, a vibrant blue,…because it takes place under water…and this serves as a unifying ground.…

Remember, a ground is the color that you start with…as an overall tone for an image when not working on white.…As I develop the form with the most opaque color…in the highest light, I consider what colors…will pop off the chosen ground.…Because the ground is vibrant, deep, cold blue,…I choose to push a yellow-green tone…on the highest lit area with flecks of a peachy tone,…and with the shadow, be closer to the blue as a purple tone.…Then reflect a vibrant minty-green,…much cooler than the light, and a deeper value…than the highly lit area to pop off the background…