The word chiaroscuro is defined as the strong contrasts between light and dark. By exaggerating these contrasts, you can create the illusion of 3 dimensions in a 2 dimensional piece, which makes it more dynamic, and more interesting to the viewer.
For me, that is often easier said then done. I struggle sometimes with being too literal in my art, and not taking 'leaps of faith' with the exaggeration of tones in the reference photos. And, graphite is not always the best medium for getting real black tones; since the darkest you can get in most cases is with the Ebony pencil, and that is still just a dark gray. To the left is probably my best example of chiaroscuro--it is an illustration of Playboy's Miss June 1979, Louann Fernald. Although the reference photo was already a dark black & white, I really had to be conscious of recreating the dark tones, and press down as hard as I could to achieve this final result. Must have come out okay...Louann bought one last year!
I have new commissions starting this month, and my goal is to really work on these contrasts, and make the ladies 'starring' in them pop!
I'm very interested to learn from other artists how they achieve chiarascuro in their own work.
Congratulations on the commissions! I have loved chiaroscuro ever since I was introduced to it in an art history class. Caravaggio employed strong dark/light contrasts in his paintings, and I loved that quality about his work. It does indeed give dimension and drama to a work of art.
ReplyDeleteThanks, CJ.. I also like the way Caravaggio used chiaroscuro. it allows his paintings to come to life. I'm so literal with my work, that I sometimes copy the original too much---my wife constantly reminds me that I can make artistic changes!
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