A Painter's Journey Part 6: A Year of Light

In this seven-part series, artist John Hulsey takes you on a visual journey through his outdoor and studio painting processes.

- By John Hulsey

The Last Light of Day This is an unusual winter composition, perhaps. The strength of this painting is in the color and value structure, both of which I changed to enhance the drama I envisioned in this ordinary scene. The textural contrasts between the water and forest also play a big role here.

If I were to design a curriculum for the aspiring painter, “Understanding Light” would be the first course of study, before color theory and well before any actual painting classes. This was the way of the old European academic courses, but somewhere along the line, the study of light itself got lost at many American art schools. My own education in art schools in the early ’70s paid scant attention to this most important of subjects. I had no real education in how light worked until I took a black-and-white photography class. That began my lifelong journey of studying the sun and moon as they move around the seasons, and trying to put those impressions down on canvas and paper. There was a lot I needed to learn.

There is no such thing as “bad light.” Without light, there is only darkness. Not very inspiring. I have always been aware that light can be an emotional experience. Anyone sensitive to daylight knows this when clouds suddenly move in and the mood seems to darken.