Chiaroscuro, low-key painting (study)

(click on image to enlarge)


Chiaroscuro - (Italian) light - dark.
An art term used to describe the contrast between light and dark.

I was looking through artwork from several great classic masters like Caravaggio, Velazquez, Vermeer, Rembrandt, etc.  I love how they use simple lighting setups to create volume, contrast, composition.  For CEF lesson illustrations, I sometimes use black outlines to create separation for children to clearly see the Bible characters from a distance ... but I prefer to use adjacent light/dark shapes (and colour) to create the separation.  [interesting how often my characters just happened to be framed by a window or doorway. :-) ]

I was taking more reference photos this past week for a CEF promotional (Kids Packet).  A single diffused light source was used for the photos.  I was drawn to this particular photo with how the face was framed by the dark hair and winter coat.
This evening I made a digital oil painting study (practice), creating a low-key painting and incorporating strong contrast in areas, placing light/dark values against each other to create separation, shape/form, all to lead the eye.  It was a good learning exercise for me.

Hope you enjoy the painting.