Where does the light come from?

So many times when you put your painting up for a critique the question is asked,”Where does the light come from?”. Recently a seasoned artist and teacher said it comes from everywhere.  I like the idea of it being an unanswerable question. Academically, all will tell us to be sensible and look at the shadows cast by the sun or the street lamp. It a gift to forget the rules.

C.B. Liddell writes about this, Nihonga: without the Hand over the Eye in the Japan Times. She states,

“At its essential level, art is a battle between the eye and the hand; the first representing sensory input, the second artistic habit and convention. When the hand outweighs the eye, art can become over-stylized, clichéd, and eventually dead.”

So when I sketch, I accept this way of thinking and enjoy the scenery before me.

sketch, pond at Pitfield House

sketch, Moulin Légaré, St. Eustache

sketch, House on grounds of Bois-de-Liesse