LIGHT REFLECTING ON ITSELF

Still Life with Oranges ( study)

James Aponovich

pencil on paper, 4 3/4" x 4"

I've always heard people talking about the 'quality of the light,'

of one place or another. I never quite understood just what they

were talking about. We used to live on the coast of Maine where

I constantly heard about the wonderful light....where?

Now we live smack dab in the middle of Italy, with the

Adriatic Sea on one side and the Tyrrenian Sea on the other.

So, I should get it , right?

Still Life with Bowl of Fruit, Panicale

James Aponovich

oil on panel, 10" x 8"

O.K., one way to paint 'light' is to paint objects in their environment

( i.e. the landscape and sky). Looking up, I must say that the deep 

blue of the Italian sky is amazing. By incorporating Renaissance 'Sfumato'

and aerial perspective ( Hello, Leonardo) and you wind up with the

classic depth of field and light stuff.

That's one way.

UP AGAINST THE WALL

or

'LIGHT BOUNCING BACK AT YOU'

Still Life with Oranges (in progress)

James Aponovich

oil on canvas, 12" x 10"

A number of years ago, Elizabeth and I were in Rome to see an

exhibit of 19th Century Italian painting at the Cloister of Bramante

just off the Piazza Navona. In the exhibit there was a still life of

oranges against a wall, but man, was it bright! I had to put on

sunglasses to look at it! When I got back to the studio I did a sketch,

in my style (first image) and this is the in progress painting.

Not so much as seeing through light, but having light

bounce back at you.

Copyright 2019 James Aponovich

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