The black vase is the simplest object in the set-up to paint. It doesn’t have any surface detail or complex coloring. I just have to depict the way the light hits it and creates highlights, shadows, cast shadows and reflected lights. Here, the basics are blocked in. The light from the tabletop is reflected up onto the bottom of the vase. The orange from the box is reflected on its right side. A shadow from the wall on the left is cast onto its left side. The direct light coming from the spotlight is seen on the left side, and the brightest area is the reflected light coming from the silver bowl on the right.
At my next session, I glazed a cool blue-black over the entire vase to make it darker. Some areas are now too dark. I did this intentionally, so that at my next session I could scumble a light tone over it. By scumbling a light tone over a darker one, you can create a beautiful mid-tone pearly gray, impossible to achieve with just a layer of opaque body color. You can see these tones in the photo below, in the fat belly of the vase. If you compare these tones to the corresponding area in the photo above, you can see the difference.
I also repainted the orange reflected light on the right, and painted the top rim. The background and tabletop shadows have been glazed darker, getting closer to the correct values.
Here I have softened the left edge of the vase to show both that its a curved surface, not a sharp edge, and also that it’s in shadow, so indistinct. I added the highlight on the top rim, and scumbled a brighter highlight coming from the spotlight on the left.
The background is now as dark as it should be. The vase is mostly dark now, both because of its local color, and the fact that its in shadow. Also, making it darker puts the emphasis on the silver bowl and orange box.
Linda Mann Artist 