Sacrificing Detail for a Moody Light Effect

James Gurney paints a street scene in Greenport, Long Island in the morning light. His goal is to capture a fleeing light effect by using a warm priming color, "photographic" lens flares, and a glaze that reduces or sacrifices detail. Because he's painting in gouache and watercolor over a casein priming, the glaze is risky because gouache reactivates when it's rewet. THEORY OF SACRIFICES “Nature instills sentiments in the spectator through the selective sacrifice of details in order to improve the overall effect.” --George Barret, The Theory and Practice of Water Colour Painting: Elucidated in a Series of Letters “Painters without experience often weaken the effect they wish to produce by a prodigality which multiplies uselessly the figures and accessories of a picture. It will not be long before they learn that, the greater the conciseness and simplicity with which a thought is interpreted, the more it gains in expressive force.” —Jules Breton, The Life of an Artist, An Autobiography GOUACHE, WATERCOLOR, and CASEIN PAINT Zinc White: https://amzn.to/3DJHmDF Azo yellow: https://amzn.to/3AomPDn Pyrrol Red: https://amzn.to/2XdPcS7 Transparent Orange Iron Oxide: https://amzn.to/3lHghLn Ultramarine blue: https://amzn.to/2Sm4FyB Prussian blue: https://amzn.to/2JVbVwb Sepia: https://amzn.to/2X7Ulgs Richeson casein set: https://amzn.to/2Huk4u3 OTHER MATERIALS Pentalic watercolor sketchbook: https://amzn.to/2L989y2 Water cup: https://amzn.to/2soTw2L Homemade sketch easel: https://gurneyjourney.gumroad.com/l/sketcheasel Rigger brush (synthetic #3) https://amzn.to/3AJoW4i Richeson travel brush set: https://amzn.to/2xwq1Rr Richeson “Grey Matters” brush set: https://amzn.to/2YeNO0P Water cup: https://amzn.to/2soTw2L CAMERAS and AUDIO Pocket camera (Canon SX620): https://amzn.to/3lIbtVW Mirrorless camera (Canon M6): https://amzn.to/3BJIjeU Stereo mics/recorders (Rode Wireless Go II): https://amzn.to/3mVsMSP Stereo recorder (Zoom H2n): https://amzn.to/3aFjCUP Tripod: https://amzn.to/2xrRaFc VIDEO TUTORIALS: “How to Make a Sketch Easel” (DVD and download options): https://jamesgurney.com/products/how-to-make-a-sketch-easel "Gouache in the Wild" : https://jamesgurney.com/products/gouache-in-the-wild "Casein Painting in the Wild": https://jamesgurney.com/products/casein-painting-in-the-wild "GRADIENTS: Color, Form, Illusion." https://jamesgurney.com/products/gradients-color-form-illusion BOOKS BY JAMES GURNEY: Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters: https://jamesgurney.com/products/color-and-light-a-guide-for-the-realist-painter-signed-by-james-gurney Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist: https://jamesgurney.com/products/imaginative-realism-how-to-paint-what-doesnt-exist Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time: https://jamesgurney.com/products/dinotopia-a-land-apart-from-time-signed OTHER OFFICIAL SITES Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesgurneyart/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/GurneyJourney/ GurneyJourney Blog: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/ JamesGurney Website: http://jamesgurney.com/ Facebook group "Sketch Easel Builders": https://www.facebook.com/groups/403006076777641/ Facebook group "Color in Practice": https://www.facebook.com/groups/160510955315435/ Some of the links above are affiliate links, for which I make a small commission at no cost to you.