As I continually study the forms of nature, I often temporarily put light theory labels aside for the sake of simplicity; it’s a kind of labeling shorthand. That doesn’t mean I ignore the principles that govern light and shadow; it’s just that I don’t have to constantly review them to get effective shapes and forms that read correctly while painting on location.
Chunking is a term that means to break large tasks down into smaller, recognizable units, which makes learning easier. It’s a great way to keep from getting bogged down in too much minutia; something I find extremely helpful when trying to juggle all the aspects of plein air painting.
Just as a quick review, when artists see objects in direct sunlight, we label the various parts: dark accent, cast shadow, form shadow, reflected light, core shadow, halftone, light and highlight. There is a lot to consider, and this knowledge is extremely valuable in understanding what’s going on with different objects in the light.
For the sake of brevity, when I look at objects in sunlight and other objects in shadow – let’s take any number of desert plants as one example – I recognize that there is a light side to these plants as well as shadow sides. Some plants may be engulfed in light, while others are completely in shadow or open shade.
I could treat these different types of light as separate entities with their own set of nomenclature or just treat the sunlit and shadow values more holistically. What do I mean by that?
Instead of going through all the labels listed above, I simply label the various parts as general darks, midtones and lights in the shadows or open shade; and darks, midtones and lights when these objects are lit up by the sun, which would also include highlights.
Of course, the plants that are in direct sunlight will have more values in total than the compressed value range of the same plants in shadow. I just see past that for the sake of this exercise.
Using the same nomenclature in the shadows as I do on the light forms may be technically incorrect, but used only as a way of chunking the principles of light in my mind for a quicker read. It doesn’t go into the theory of why these values do what they do. That’s all valuable information we can always have in the back of our mind and draw upon when needed.
I hope this helps you as it does me.
Until next time,
John
Editor’s Note: Join us for the 6th Annual Plein Air Live online art conference, featuring Kathleen Hudson, Kevin Macpherson, Kami Mendlik, and many more! The event takes place November 6-8, 2025, with an Essential Techniques Day on November 5. Learn more at PleinAirLive.com.
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