Creative explorations Vol #6: Light
A creative sketchbook prompt to support your art practice.
Creative Explorations are themed around a prompt that you can explore in your own art/creative practice over the coming weeks. Prompts will be sent out on the last Friday of every month. I hope this month’s prompt sparks your creative juices!
Earlier this month, Indians around the world celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights. So what better month to explore LIGHT as a theme in our art and creative practice?
Light can be expressed in various ways — as sources of illumination, such as sunlight, candle light, or fairy lights; as a feeling, airy, spacious, buoyant, gentle; as a spatial or visual sense, such as that created by a minimal space.
What other meanings can you derive from the word light?
Here are some ideas to get you started with your exploration of LIGHT.
Resources + ideas
Explore chiaroscuro paintings: Chiaroscuro is an Italian term that means 'light-dark'. In paintings, it refers to tonal contrasts that help suggest volume, but there’s a bit of a specificity to achieving some truly dramatic effects with this technique. Caravaggio was a master of this technique, as was Leonardo da Vinci. Watch this video for a bit of the history and theory as well as a brief demo of the chiaroscuro technique, and then try this in your own sketchbook.
Build up the light: Begin with a dark background and slowly build up the light using light, bright colors.
Tip: Avoid using too much black in the background, it makes it more difficult to build up lighter colors. You can always go back in later and add more black or other dark colors.
Use white space: Often, mixed media artists especially, tend to not leave any white space in their paintings. In the next few weeks, experiment with making white space a prominent element in your painting.
Try your hand at a minimal abstract: Minimalism is an extreme form of abstract art that was developed in the US in the 1960s. Minimal abstracts are typically composed of simple geometric shapes, with few variations in color and shape, used in repetition. Many contemporary artists have brought their own twist to this concept, working with recognizable motifs {florals, leaves} paired with geometric shapes and lines and muted colors. Try a minimal abstract or two in your sketchbooks in the coming weeks.
Take a look at my Pinterest board for some inspiration on minimal abstracts
Get literal: Add in stars, candles, fairy lights, the sun or other light sources into your composition using collage or paint.
Use feathers: Or any other element that represents light to you in your sketchbook. You can incorporate the object itself onto your page, or sketch it out or collage it in. You could also dip feathers into ink and use it as a mark making tool!
I look forward to seeing your take on this prompt! You can email your finished pieces to me on shinjinim@substack.com or share them on Notes if you use the Substack app and tag me. If you share on Instagram, tag me @moderngypsy.in
Before we end, check out this response to last month’s prompt!
Gorgeous food art by
I’d love to feature your responses to this month’s prompt, so don’t forget to share them with me!
Like this prompt? Share it with your friends and invite them into our virtual studio. If you’re on the Substack app, please consider restacking this post.
Ooh I like this prompt and feel inspired!
Currently, I am thinking of light as it relates to buoyancy. It’s most felt by its absence.