Honours Workshop Diary 12 - Reflection and Summary on Impressionism

• Discovery and implementation into art that the complementary colour is present in the colour's shadows which leads to

• more vibrant and lively paintings

• Avoiding black in shadows (not always 100% but a supported idea by the impressionists)

• Change of view on lighting: Only little contrast on objects themselves to allow more colour and atmospheric pictures

• Emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time)

• Plein-air painting

• avoid extreme 3 dimensional rendering of objects (like most studio work) 

• Common and ordinary subject matter

• High-keyed colours

• Open composition

• Inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience

• Unusual visual angles

• Relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes