Author Archives: Lillian Kennedy

Hold your finger up and look at it.  The side away from the light is darker.  That is a FORM shadow.  Now put your finger on a piece of white paper.  The paper is darker next to  the dark side of your finger.  That is a CAST shadow. They are handled differently in painting.  

For example, it is great to see a form shadow on a person’s nose, but if you’ve ever looked at photos or paintings with harsh shadows cast by that nose on a cheek, you’ll know that the cast shadow, in this case, breaks up the form of the face.… Read the rest