Geometric Planes
by Armand Cabrera
Have you ever noticed that even though some artists have
painted areas of light and shadow in their paintings,
their pictures still seem to have no unifying sense of
light? That is because they have incorrectly painted the
planes that make up the objects in the painting.
Planes,
as they pertain to painting, are one of the most essential
concepts for creating a sense of light and space in your
work. Planes help create the illusion of form. It is the
ability to correctly identify where the planes are on
a form and their angle to the light that helps to make
a successful painter. Whenever you see a plane change,
you must also change the hue, temperature or value to
record it. Imagine the facets of a diamond. The flattened
areas are planes. By observing the way light changes on
these planes, you can create a believable form.
When painting the landscape, the idea of planes still
applies. Think of the earth as a large, horizontal plane.
Trees and buildings would be upright planes and hills
and mountains would be inclined planes. We know that light
from the sun falls in parallel rays. When this light falls
on different objects in the landscape, it is the direction
of the light in relation to the angle of the plane of
the object that determines the brightness. When the plane
of an object is perpendicular to the direction of the
light---that place is the object’s brightest point.
It is the consistency with which you paint this relationship
that creates a unifying sense of light in your work.
The outdoor painter has the added challenge of atmospheric
recession and the suns movement across the sky. As the
sun moves, the angle of the light changes…and changes
the way it interacts with the scene. This is why it is
imperative to lock in the essential divisions of light
and shadow as quickly as possible when painting from life.
