Chiaroscuro, otherwise known as light and dark, is a non linear means to describe three dimensional volume. In drawing, approach your subject as if it were made up of areas best described tonally. Establish where you source of light is coming from and consider how the side of the object away from light is dark and vice versa.

I’ve chosen Caravaggio here to demonstrate a rather extreme example of how light can be used to express volume. I have always loved this painting for it’s showmanship and it’s drama. But best of all, for those who don’t know already, it has a little secret. With the exception of Jesus (who is reading the menu and saying ‘I ordered duck not chicken’) none of the apostles’ line of sight is correct. Luke, on the right wearing the scallop shell of a pilgrim, looks into the middle distance left. Cleophas is looking beyond the right shoulder of Luke whilst the waiter looks beyond his left shoulder. Why? Probably because Caravaggio was using a camera obscura. Each of his subjects sat down independently and the painting was assembled much like a collage.

And on the subject of camera obscuras one of our current artists Cristina Sáez is building one in the studio at Los Gázquez as part of her installation. You can read more on her project here.