Painting by Sophia Flowers             Painting by Sophia Flowers

“You need the dark to have the light”.  Oh how I resisted this particular piece of guidance!  At the time, black was not a colour I enjoyed using – for me, it was all about the light and bright colours.  However, it is true – we do need a contrast of some sort to show the light or shading, whether it be black and white or a darker colour with a lighter colour.

In the first example, you can see the direct use of black and white with colours that have been sandwiched in between to add depth.  In the second example, gold, coppers and bronzes were used to show the sunlight.