Light for the Artist

by Ted Seth Jacobs

Intermediate and advanced art students receive a broad vocabulary of effects with this in-depth study of light. The guide offers detailed descriptions that start with the basics — the direction of light, reflections, and shadows — and advance to studies of light in natural and manipulated situations. Examinations of subtler light effects include foreshortening, field effects, multiple light sources, colored light, depicting the light source, and the behavior of light on shiny surfaces.
Lavishly illustrated with diagrams and paintings, this volume applies its principles to figure, still life, and landscape paintings. Author Ted Seth Jacobs stresses the importance of comparing real-life vision to the canvas, since no system of rules can substitute for close and careful observation. Jacobs points out common errors, suggests light effects that artists should keep in mind, and discusses how preconceptions can be put aside in order to see the world more clearly.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Reference, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1988

Reviews

[Mariℓina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Stars of: it could have been better..
I really wanted to like it and i did at some points but most of it for me personally, was sadly a failure.

The idea was very good, but the execution was poor, boring and obsolete.
The paintings didn't help a lot and also had an archaic look..
It started out ok with pieces about shapes, shadows, reflects and angles, which were informative and nicely written. But the author lost his point when he started the magnanimous chapter about shadows only..

It was chaotic and badly formed, even some diagrams that were meant as a help were inadequate by the end. The rumbling about the same matter over and over was just plainly hideous. The only bright side came at the last chapter, when the main theme shifted from shadows-finally- to philosophical topics about light in general.

Only for the last part i give 2,5 Stars, hoping for some improvements..

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Light For the Artist is a short 100 or so pages that packs in a lot of information. It's the type of read that feels like it was written by an educator/professor and for students: lacking in friendly tones and densely worded, it can be fairly inscrutable. But that isn't to say there isn't useful information in here; certainly, mastering light is arguably the most important discipline of a painter.

The book isn't about technique nor style. Rather, the author is careful to note that it is about explaining light in detail so the artist can use that to make their own work more sophisticated. The book is broken down into three sections: (1) Symbolism and Perception: Word Versus Light. (2) The Nature of Light: It's Structure Action, And Effects. (3) Toward a Philosophy of Perception. Within those sections, subjects include directional quality of light, light moving through space, orchestrating light effects, stripping away preconceptions, foreshortening of light, multiple light sources, light on shiny surfaces, light as the teacher, and more.

The book is thorough in its approach to light but honestly it does read like a physics textbook - very dry and you have to reread a lot in order to understand the points presented. That isn't to say that we're dealing with hard physics here; there are no prisms, light spectrum, wavelengths, or any of those concepts. But what is discussed is done in a very dry, impenetrable, and blocky way. I found myself rereading a lot.

Most, if not all, of the images in the book are from the author. That was a bit problematic to me in a book that purports in the very beginning to not be about one style. In order to really make the points work, I would have liked to see all kinds of examples from different artists and especially different eras. Most of the author's works are from 1960-1980, and of naked women, with a few still life and landscapes thrown in to break up the monotony, so the endless repetition of T&A (tasteful though it is) isn't as useful as variety could be. Especially since those images aren't references to the points of that chapters and seem to be randomly thrown in for filler.

The author does a great job of presenting examples of how light interpretation can be done incorrectly or correctly. I found those images the most useful; side by side comparisons of the same image, one stronger and one weaker. But there simply weren't enough and so I'd end up having to reread and reread to understand the concepts. I also wish there were photographs of the scene to use as a reference to see how the author was interpreting the actual light. It seems too narrow a focus to see only through the author's eyes with his finished works. Even better, I would have loved to see a scene's lighting painted several different ways by different artists.

There were other odd contributions by the author - randomly quoting sanscrit or calling our sun "Aton". In a straightforward, academic-feeling book, those odd inclusions made the concepts within feel less academic and more like a hippy acid trip of nebulous ideas. Had a balance between the two (academic vs new age) been achieved, it would have made for an excellent, modern, straightforward, and very useful reference. As it is, this is a good book that you'll want to take to the park and reread sections at leisure so you can figure them out.

Reviewed from an ARC.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. It's more readable than HueValueChroma, which is the gold standard for light and color theory IMO.

The diagram on page 47 is golden: it's so rare to see an actual painted step-by-step example of how to blend simple forms, from completely separate to almost totally merged!

I'm planning to check out this book again when I'm ready to do studies of simple forms because the coverage on that subject is quite good.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5

I really really appreciate the publisher Dover for reviving/re-issuing some great art and art technique books.  This particular book, Light for the Artist, from 1988, offers up some extremely valuable information.  Light, its source and its effect on an object, might be one of the most important aspects of painting.  Everything from color and hue to shadows depends on light.

Author Ted Seth Jacobs tends to get a little overly-complicated, explaining things multiple times, using paintings (his own) and painting diagrams to illustrate his points.

The difficult thing about art instruction by book is that the teacher/author must assume that the reader has no knowledge of what is being taught, otherwise they wouldn't be seeking out the instruction book.  Jacobs certainly packs in a lot of material here, but it reads very clinically and without any excitement.  A little artistic passion would be helpful, but even the included paintings are subdued, dry works (the cover, as depicted here, might be the most 'vibrant' of his included paintings).

Yet dry or not, the information here is definitely respected by Jacobs.  He has three chapters 1: "Symbolism and Perception: Word Versus Light", 2: "The Nature of Light: Its Structure, Action, and Effects", and 3: "Toward a Philosophy of Perception" with sub-chapters such as "Light as a Paradigm of Consciousness:, "Light Moving Through Space", and "Unifying Washes of Light" among many others.  If nothing else, Jacobs is thorough.

But in any discussion of light, as it applies to the painting arts, I would hope for examples beyond the author.  How do you describe the power of light in art without acknowledging or sharing examples of Rembrandt or Caravaggio or Vermeer?  While the budding artists who read this book aren't likely to achieve the status of these masters, it would still be nice to see Jacobs' teachings as illustrated by these masters.

Because of the dry nature of the writing, I did find myself losing focus and needing to re-read sections that I'd just read.  And frankly, much of what is written here seems so natural to me that I don't understand why it's necessary to go in to such detail about light - its source and angles and effects.  Jacobs does touch on this briefly in his preface:

As you might expect, many of the actions of light described here have been known for centuries. However, since the advent of nonrepresentational art, a large body of past knowledge about light, including some very basic ideas, has been virtually lost. This phenomenon is observed over and over in art schools—even among students who have been studying for many years. For this reason, I presume to hope that besides the student, even the professional artist may find here useful material about light.

I entered the university system as an art major, almost a decade before the book was first published, and I recall a number of my teachers talking about the importance of shadows and light (one small aspect of what Jacobs touches on) and very little discussion on "nonrepresentational art" so I'm not quite sure what he is referring to.

I was going to close saying that I wasn't sure I learned anything particularly new; however, I do think that the next time I go to draw or paint something, I will take a second and third look at the source(s) of light on my subject before I draw (and that's a good thing), so perhaps even this slight alteration to my methods, because of this book, suggests that even a dry, scholarly book on art can have an impact on the artist.

Looking for a good book?  Light for the Artist is a thorough examination on how light can and should impact the artist, and though it reads a bit dull at times, it can still have a positive influence on the amateur artist.

[S · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should preface this review by admitting that I am an artist (who did also go to University for studio arts and Art History) as well as a former scientist (Archaeology). I am fairly well educated and I really, really wanted to like this book. I was looking forward to reading something that appealed to my creative as well as scientific interests.

I love many Dover Publications, especially those that fall under the "Arts" category. This one, however, I would have to classify as "barely OK." As an artist I enjoy reading about how other artists look at light, shadow, perspective, color, design, etc. since someone may have a different way of "seeing" that I can use to make my own works better.

As a handbook on the scientific aspects of light, it is marginally OK. If you can hammer your way through the verbosity there is some good information about how light hits objects and how our eyes perceive them. But you have to trudge through a great deal of text and some pretty poor drawings and examples to get there.

As a handbook for artists to use in understanding how light hits objects and how to technically overcome the issues in representing them, it is horrible for the reasons listed above. Unfortunately, it reads as an aging Art History professors' dated exposition on light and Fine Arts (painting specifically). I felt as though I was reading a treatise from the 1960's by a professor that had been taking too many downers while smoking weed. The paintings are all pretty horrible examples as well. For a really good explanation of light for the artist, a variety of media (painting, sculpture, photography, drawing) should have been included to more fully depict the discussed text.

If you are an artist, I would only read this if you have NO other options available. Blech. I feel like I have wasted my time, unfortunately.

I received a copy of this book to peruse through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Ted Seth Jacobs' previous book: "Drawing With an Open Mind", I was very interested to see what he did with the subject of light. Expanding upon what was written about in the aforementioned book, Jacobs gives a comprehensive treatment to the perception of light and shadows. Many interesting examples are given and the reader is given a glimpse into the "eye" of an artist who sees the world around him in a that is taught differently by other methods. An excellent book that is recommended for artists of all media.

[Raven Bandicoot · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I have received this through Goodreads First Reads.

This book is difficult to comprehend if you don't understand at least basic "art jargon", as some call it.

I was really hoping that this would provide more techniques and tips for how to use light; however, it was only an informational based book. Light for the Artist did include a few diagrams with pointers, but just not enough to help me to better understand light sources. It was still a good read for information about light, however.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a textbook than a guide, Light for the Artist is a dense text interspersed with the artist's myriad paintings. I enjoyed reading about cast shadows, unusual light directions, and light on shiny surfaces.

There are a few examples contrasting the "wrongful" use of light/shadow with the "correct" use, and I wish Ted Jacobs had incorporated many more of these examples to illustrate his points.

/received a copy of this book via First Reads

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear , concise and informative .
Easy to read .