A Trick That Will Help Bring Your Paintings to Life

This was the first painting I ever did and I've made a post over on my blog at www.witwoo.com about how I got started with gouache. The painting took forever to complete, not least because each time I came across a new technique, I couldn't wait to try it out, so this is almost a test-piece, I suppose.
The technique I want to show you in this lens is perhaps best illustrated by the very dark, almost black, outline of the grass against the pale distant fields. Once you see what's at work here, you can spot many other instances of the same technique in action.
Notice the sheep on the left, that "just happens" to be in line with a dark patch of grass in the middle distance.
The dog's black coat, "luckily", happened to be against a background of lighter grass. You can see that if I'd painted the black fur against dark grass, the effect would have been to lose the definition of the dog's shape.
Also, the brilliant white of the dog's ruff is set against a medium-dark background. You can probably see other places where I've done this and how, in each case, the contrast helps to give a more realistic look to the painting.
In the distance, of course, the contrast is greatly reduced, to give the effect of depth to the picture - something I'll talk about in another lens.

This is the painting by Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788) entitled Mr. and Mrs. Andrews 271/2" x 47" from the National Gallery in London.
This was Gainsborough's first masterpiece, completed when he was aged 22. An unusual composition, don't you think?
Below is a detail of the area around the dog and Mr. Andrews' legs. You can see here how Gainsborough has used exactly the same technique that we've been looking at - the white of the dog's head against the black trouser leg, the black shoes against lighter backgrounds...



It's interesting to note that the unfinished area around Mrs. Andrews' hands, on her lap, is believed to have been intended for a pheasant, which would show the same kind of contrast.
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