anymuddy,flatcolors.“Ithinkthe
complementarycolorapproachhelps
withoverallcolorbalanceandmakes
colorintheshadowsappearricher,”he
says.“Wheneverpossible,I usecomple-
mentsadjacenttooneanotherforcolor
contrast,andI tendtopushcolorstotheirfullintensity
forstrongervisualimpact.Colorsappliedtolightedareas,
though,needtobeunified.”Hedoesthisbypaintingwith
a grayhecreatesbymixingblack,whiteandcomplementary
colors.Theresultingcoloris onehecalls“gorgeousgray.”
Todeterminewhichpartofthelightingina composition
hastheunique“glow”thatWulooksfor,theartistoften
squintsathissubject.Theareathat“glows”willbecome
thefocalpoint,attractingtheviewer’seye.Toachievethis
extraordinarylighteffect,Wualternatesmanylayersof
a complementarymix,suchasredandgreenwithwhite,to
achievejusttherighttemperatureandlightvalue.Foradded
drama,heoftencontraststhisareaagainstdarks,butuses
a softedgeandtransitionalvaluestoenhanceit.InDancing
Light, theartistdiffusestheedgesofthesubject’scurlsand
herrightshoulderandneck,allowingtheglaringlightto
bouncebackintothesurroundingdarkness.Inareaswhereless attention to pure representation
lately, choosing instead to focus on color
and light to define shapes. “I believe
that paintings done with this approach
look more harmonious and unified. The
beaming light sparkling on the model’s
hair and the flowing colors of her kimono
create a motion that contrasts with the
still, stable, triangular contour of the
model’s pose. In this painting, in my
mind, light is the dancer.”
The model for his prizewinning pastel
is from one of Wu’s life drawing classes he
taught at the Academy of Art University,
San Francisco. Wu arranged the setting,
pose, drapery and lighting—paying special
attention to the last. “With side light-
ing, the model’s blonde hair was glowing
under a soft yellow light, illuminating her
sheer kimono as if the light was danc-
ing around the pink and yellow floral
pattern on her kimono,” he recalls. “The
arrangement was beautiful. I did a quick
single-color pastel sketch in class and
took a few photos for future reference.”
Then, six months ago, Wu found the
references under a stack of books and was
inspired to create a larger-scale painting,
focusing on lighting, structure, gesture
and expression.
His preference, when applicable, is to
combine fabrics for a varied effect. “Cotton
canbearrangedwithlongerstretchesand
canholdrelativelyhardedges,whilesilk
hassofter,shiningfolds,”hesays.
Toaccentuatethematerialinclothedfigurativeworks,
Wuseeksinterestinglightingeffects,likeusingthelight
toaccentuatedraperyinsteadoftheskin,forexample.
Toobtainmorepronouncedthree-dimensionalcharacter-
istics,heprefersback,toporsidelighting.Inhisstudio,
Wuhasoverheadhalogenlightingontracksanda GVM
560ASbi-colorLEDlightwithvariablebrightnessand
adjustabletemperaturerangeforsideorbacklighting.ColorConcepts
Wulaysinthebackgroundandmajorformsusingthesides
ofRembrandtpastels,buildingupsuccessivelayersand
turningtoNupastelsforfinerendering.Sometimes,though,
thesimplerthetools,thebetter.“Iusea combinationof
wide,flatstrokesandsmudgingwitha papertowelor
fingerstoachievetheseeffects.”Afterblockinginthemain
forms,heusesa workablefixative.Hispreferredsurfaces
aretheroughsideofCansonMi-Teintes,usuallyindark
colors;Strathmorecharcoalpaper;orwhiteBFKRives.
Wuchoosestoneutralizecolorsinthelightedareasof
hiscomposition,savingtheintense,brightcolorsforthe
shadowedareas.HesaysthistechniquehelpshimtoavoidABOVE
Contemplation
(24x18)
OPPOSITE
Summer Light
(24x18)46 Pastel Journal APRIL 2020