Light is the primary phenomenon of vision and representation. Light is energy. We learn to recognize its different qualities and effects on things so that we can transfer these vibrations to our paintings. Technique, through successive applications of paint, helps us capture this immaterial substance that gives our work particular meanings. Light is also fundamental to inner representations and has long symbolized the awakening of consciousness. Our use of light, like every element of the method, is accompanied by inner openness and a movement of the spirit.
Light as a revealer of visible reality
Contrasts between light and shadow, brightness and darkness, are the main means by which we perceive visible reality. Without tonal contrasts, images tend to appear flat and lack depth. Studying chiaroscuro enriches our work with three-dimensional space. In this section we work with opposites. Light and darkness are profound allegories of life and death, hell and paradise, the visceral depths and sunlit heights. Their contrast can express an extraordinary range of allegorical meanings. We also explore different kinds of light and their effects on forms and spaces, using photographic lamps and studying paintings by the masters. We paint with lighting chosen according to our inner experience: strong contrasts, intense or soft diffused light, candlelight, sunset, dawn, night, and more.
Artistic and Technical Objectives: Manage chiaroscuro contrasts and integrate the theory of light and shadow.
Existential Objectives: Understand the correspondences between light and shadow and mental and emotional states.
Spiritual Objectives: Connect with the luminous depths and expanses of the spirit.
Workshop Topics: Bodies and light; theory of light and shadow; physics of light; light as allegory; inner states and brightness; light and surfaces; inner light; color of light; transformation of form through light.