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Light and Shadows.

I thought it would be fun, and dramatic, to paint the shadows cast on my son's sunlit face. Changing the reference photo to black and white reveals a nice value range and interesting shapes.

What was I thinking?

I didn't get past the first layer before I wondered what I had gotten myself into! Is that creepy or what (above)?

No need to panic.

Because I knew from experience that the hideously dark-looking shadows were only an illusion.

Mid values look darker than they actually are when contrasted to very light values such as my first layer of flesh tones. Once I began to add layers of flesh tone and additional darks to the painting, the shadows didn't look so harsh.

Trust the process.

As you can see, with each addition layer, those shadows became less creepy and more natural. In fact, some shadows actually had to be darkened to keep pace with the rest of the painting. 

Surprise endings.

I removed color from the finished painting, Light and Shadows (top of page), so you could see how not dark the shadows actually are. I must say, even I was surprised that they appear as such a light value in the desaturated version!

Paint Love. Repeat.