2020-08-01 Artists & Illustrators

I

llusion of depth is one of the

hallmarks of representational

painting. The genres of landscape,

still life, portraiture and figurative

painting often depend on illusions

of three-dimensional forms existing

in a perceptual space. While some art

does not require illusions of depth to

convey its visual narrative, many do,

particularly in traditional genres.

Creating a visual sense of

perceivable depth in a painting

depends on several artistic principles

working in combination with each

other. A very important area is colour,

but colour in and of itself might not

create the full illusion of depth in a

painting unless it is combined with

the elements discussed below.

Colour must be modified by – and

added to – chromatic intensities,

edge descriptions, brushwork types

and details, and the size of colour

touches in the image. This complete

package creates aerial perspective

or illusions of depth via relationships

between these several visual and

technical elements.

The four descriptions below are

designed to support an increased

understanding of the formal and

visual elements of colour in creating

depth in painting. The same concepts

can be used across oil, acrylic,

watercolour, gouache, pastel and

other colour media.

COL

colo

Over the next seven pages, we present a painting workshop on using colour

to suggest three dimensions. AL GURY begins by outlining four areas of

focus, before DAVID HORNUNG breaks down those relationships in detail

Depth th

LEFT Al Gury,
Tuscan
Sunflowers, oil on
panel, 36x30cm
Depth was created
by using sharper,
more chromatic
and expressive
brushstrokes
in the flowers,
while softer
brushstrokes and
cooler colours
helped other areas
recede.

RIGHT Al Gury,
Reclining Nude,
oil on panel,
23x30cm
The overall high-
key colour choices,
combined with
strong variety
in foreground
and background
brushstrokes and
planes, created a
sense of depth.

Artists & Illustrators 63