Light is the substance hoped for and the evidence of things not seen

Many people look at art as an expression of some form or other, as a visual representation of an object or of an artist’s interpretation of an object, event, circumstance or emotion. In reality, an artist simply gives something form through the use various mediums.

The painter uses colour to express their perceptions

For visual artist and painter Suzanne McGillivray, it is not the form so much that fascinates her, it is the life behind the form or what the form represents. It has been the need to explore and express light which has led her deeper into the understanding and employment of colour, into drawing on numerous media and the utilisation of textures to create life and movement in her paintings, giving a richness and depth to her work. Suzanne is constantly looking beyond the surface of things and of her art reflects this search.

What is Light?

Light is simply a name for a range of electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye, there are also ranges of light that we cannot yet see.

Electromagnetic radiation is sorted by wavelength into:

• radio
• microwave
• infra-red  (the visible region we perceive as light)
• ultra-violet
• X-rays
• gamma rays

The behaviour of electro magnetic (EM) radiation depends on its wavelength. Higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths, and lower frequencies have longer wavelengths.

Light has both wave-like properties and particle-like properties, ‘complementary’ aspects of light, varying the frequency (colour) and/or the intensity (amplitude) of the incoming light. Einstein’s wave particle duality.

Einstein also found that matter and energy are simply different forms of the same thing. We can convert one into the other.

So, light is energy and all is energy. So all is light!

What is Colour?

Colour derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength). In painting of light, one aspect of light (brightness or dimness / light or shade), is signified by another aspect of light (colour). Colours are chosen according to their relative energies within the spectrum, and this unifies a scene in an artwork as a record of light represented by colour, thus colour is used as a metaphor of light’s interaction with the material forms.

Thus colour is energy and brings a correlation to the matter is energy of Einstein. Technically, the amplitude properties of light (brightness/lightness) have been modulated into the wavelength/frequency characteristics of light (colour).

So when a visual artist creates an artwork, they are communicating aspects of light that are given certain forms. In the case of abstract works, which tend to be formless, the artist is generally attempting to communicate something about the object and not the object in itself.

When you next look at a piece of art, endeavour to see as an artist sees, look at the lines, shades, hues, tones, shadows and the quality, subtlety and intensity of light.

Have you ever been moved by a painting, soothed by a piece of music, captured by an image, engrossed in a movie, of captivated by a book you just cant put down?

Art as Expression

One cannot dissociate Art from emotion and the various states of our Being, for Art wouldn’t exist without it. Art is a way of expression and natural trait that has its origins within the hearts and mind of its creator.

We Artists externalise our feelings, emotions, thoughts or perceptions through various media. They say that Art is in the eye of the beholder, and this remains ever true, as no one is immune to the emotional or physiological responses to art. Its demonstration may either be subtle or explicit but either way the response is real. There are times when an artwork just speaks to you; be it a piece of music that stills a troubled mind or an image that stirs long forgotten experiences or a painting that just stops you in your tracks.

When Art Moves You

When an artist truly communicates with someone, it is deeply personal experience; a dialogue has been established, the viewer has been moved in some way or other. Whether the art form music, painting, photography, sculpture, or poetry, our response is true, as it resonates with something within our own personal world. Sometimes it is as if the Artist speaks directly into your heart and mind.

An Artist invites you into their world and then you take them into yours. So next time you are feeling like a boost, take your favourite artist with you:

• take your favourite book to bed
• put on your earphones and move into the grove of your favourite musician
• immerse yourself in the beauty of your favourite painter
• or simply bathe yourself in the colour pallet of your favourite artwork

Before you know it you will find a space where you are at home and feeling revitalised and ready to face the world again.

“Your Vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

~ Carl Jung

© Suzanne McGillivray 2012