Remember how I was fighting a sketch recently at GINGER BAR because I barely could see what I was doing in a dimly lit bar? This evening, at another bar but with a similar low-light atmosphere, I went at it again. But this time deliberately, facing it as an experiment. I wanted to see what I would get if I embraced the circumstances which forced me to suppose and guess rather than see for sure what I am doing.
I faced two problems: working in low-light meant I could not accurately pick the hues – I more or less mixed them from memory. But as I work with this palette for a long time (the almost empty pans are the witnesses of that fact), I know my pigments by now.
The other problem was judging the contrast; in dark it seemed I was painting stronger shadows than I actually did. When I got home and saw the result under normal lighting, I found that painting lacked a bit of contrast and depth. The scan is somewhat stronger than actual image, though, so it might not be as visible.
All in all, it was a fun experiment. Once I started working with constraints instead of fighting them nervously, I even enjoyed the experience and learned in consequence that I can trust my guessing to a solid measure.
