Light and stuff

Jeremy Mann 'A Long Abandoned Dream' Oil on Canvas

I've always been a massive fan of Jeremy Mann and his ability to combine beautiful abstract brush strokes with more refined detail giving his pieces a main focal point. A strong understanding of colour theory and light is present within all of his work making him a true master at what he does. In the piece, 'A long abandoned dream', Mann interprets an emotional atmosphere through the use of cold blue hues and juxtaposes these with a pale orange to really make the blue stand out and also to show where the main light source may be coming from. There are two pale orange sections of the painting, inside the right section is a very crudely painted white mark which I imagine to be a lightbulb and the shadows on the figure support that this could be the light source. Within the piece light bounces around the room and the cold tones suggest that the room is large. There is reflective light present as you can see the figures reflection in the mirror where in her reflection her back appears to be of a warmer tone, showing the warm light raidiating from the lightbulb onto her back and from her back to the mirror. With further examination there appears to be a secondary light source which could possibly be the second pale orange section. Mann's style makes it difficult to depict exactly what the light source is however following the shadows and direction of light it is evident that there are multiple light sources and lots of light reflection.