The Beauty of Shadows

”Promise”
Oil on Linen, 33.5 x 40”
PRIVATE COLLECTION

I love shadows and I love painting them. I am drawn to their subtlety, hidden depths and inner light. Shadows are like us — they have distinctive forms and sizes.  But also like us, their true beauty is revealed only when we take the time to truly see them. Even the darkest of shadows contains light.  A dense shadow cast by the midday sun may be an inky midnight, but its center might be deep bordeaux and its edges azure.  

I always paint shadows that are cast during Golden Hour — that magical time of day just before the sun sets (or rises). The long shadows are violet-hued with soft, gleaming edges. There is a poignancy to these shadows because their ravishing beauty will soon fade and be gone.  

My shadows are as carefully observed and lovingly painted as my “real” subjects. I paint them with some variation of my signature shadow color — a warm violet tinged with the local color cast by the subject. And always, the furthest edges of the shadows are tinged with a glowing coral.  

So, the next time you gaze in amazement at something wondrous or even strange, don’t forget to spend time looking at the shadows. That is where you may find the subtlest and most revealing beauty of all.

”Reverie”
Oil on Linen, 30 x 40”
PRIVATE COLLECTION

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