Silhouette Paintings

Silhouette Paintings:

Have you ever thought about doing some silhouette art yourself.

I for one, have always have a soft spot for this sort of art.

There are many different ways you can do silhouette art.

Possibly more than you would have thought.

So I want to take you through a few examples, so as to stretch your imagination a little.

I feel that you would have made up your minds when thinking about silhouette art.

You might think of cutouts, or maybe just a straight black silhouette of a certain subject on a white background.

True......... there are many examples like this around.

But we are talking about silhouette paintings, to be a silhouette artist in this field, there are many different choices when painting a silhouette.

Ok... what causes a silhouette? do you know..... a silhouette is created when the sun is going down, or the light of the moon.

Or when a certain subject is in darkness, with the exception of light that is shone behind it.

Now that you know how this strange phenomena is create, how do you portray it in your painting.

Silhouettes are very direct, the subject that is cast in a silhouette is dramatic in appearance. Even though you can not pick out the detail, it almost emits a sense of mystery about it.

Photo Courtesy: *L*u*z*a*
I have found some excellent examples here to show you just how imaginative you can be if you want to be a silhouette artist.

This silhouette art here is mystical in effect.

Through natures own devices, nature has created it's own beautiful art. Carefully selecting the

bird subject, with the branch disappearing into the framed mist like darkness, while the moon behind shines in it's crisp beauty.

This subject alone is created by the moon light. See how you have the mellow colures of blues mixed with black.

Now we have below another different piece of silhouette art. Note that this silhouette is created by the sun as it sets, hence having the colors of oranges and yellows.

Look how the clouds have created distant patterns in the sky as the last rays of the sun hits the underlining of the clouds.

Photo Courtesy: Edwardo Amorim

Depending on where the setting sun is at the time, determines just how much of the silhouette will be shown.

In this photo taken in Argentina, you can only see the top part of our subjects here.

This in itself is just as effective as seeing the whole subject as a silhouette.

So......... you have choices here.

Being a silhouette artist and creating silhouette paintings is a section in the artists field that should be considered.

I have done such works in the past, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Can't say I have done any lately; though broaching this subject here certainly has wetted my appetite in getting down and doing some again

Have a look at some examples of silhouette paintings below. Note how the artist has used an array of sunset colures and how the subjects are shown complete, their outlines need little introduction in instant reorganization to what they are.

So what ever subject you choose, people will recognize it. Do be careful if you do decide to use certain subjects that are mingled together too closely, so that the subjects themselves dint just become a mass of a black shapeless mess.

You know what your subjects are, yet you must also consider that your onlooker does also.

People distinguish an outline of a subject by familiarity, if you cant give them this, the silhouette painting will be looked over by the onlooker in disappointment.

People like to recognize what they are seeing, it gives them an instinctual comfort. And if you cant give that to them, then your painting might as well disappear into obscurity.

Photo Courtesy: Sunset Contemporary Art by Shirley Shelton.

I wanted you to have a look at these examples above, so that you can see that you do have choices in what sort of silhouette paintings you can try.

If..... like myself, where you might pick silhouette subjects that look interesting, and want to put it into a silhouette painting. Try different color choices in how you would like to paint it.

"I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don't in fact know very often what the paint will do, and it does many things which are very much better than I could make it do" - Francis Bacon, 1963

If your subject is not a silhouette to start off with, and you are not sure of it's effect as a silhouette, or if you feel it just is too packed together and might be unrecognizable or just too confusing for the onlooker.

Try blackening out the subject yourself and than judge if you think it will be suitable

Silhouette paintings are startling and so effective, the way colors can be set as a back-drop and it's subject in such start contrast. Creating an element of mystery about it, which makes silhouette paintings some of the best art around.

I have mainly seen such paintings in bright solid colures, which probably brings out the best effect. That does not mean that you cant try experimenting with different paints to create different effects.

Oil paints, acrylic paints, and why not even try oil pastels for a change........

Stick to the main rules, and get creative using different color combination's. Above all, if you feel that this is something you want to try, I am sure you will relish the challenge.

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