Backlighting

Caroline Jasper
Ice Light
Date Undiscolsed
Landscape gallery

This painting depicts a wintery forest setting, with consecutive bare trees and snow beneath them. Especially emphasized by its seasonally specific subject matter, this piece contains a somber and gloomy mood. The positioning of the tall and menacing shapes in the form of trunks and branches, which cast prominent shadows across the foreground, give the viewer a tone of cold unease. On the other hand, Jasper presents a contrast and transition in mood with the backlighting, by using regions of red and pink light, on both the trunks and branches, indicating the approaching sunrise or possibly sunset. The pale pink in the background projecting its glow through crevices in the branches' overlap implies a mood of growing warmth. This use of contrasting backlight against the glossy snow gives a strong sense of optimism. In this painting, backlight is used to represent the conflicting nature of the freezing snow and impending sunrise.

Peggi Kroll Roberts
Orange Dress
2009
Figures Gallery

In this painting, Roberts illustrates a woman sitting on what appears to be sand or the pavement, wearing a sleeveless orange dress. In terms of mood, this piece gives the viewer a sense of warmth, positivity, and relaxation. The woman's body language is tranquil and loose. As she sits barefoot and slouched over, the atmosphere is one of calmness. The use of the rich orange folds in the dress radiates heat and enthusiasm. In contrast to Ice Light, the use of backlight in Orange Dress affirms the mood of the painting's composition. The is a halo-like glow surrounding the woman, shown with a tan gray behind her extended arm. The shadow cast by the backlighting does not darken the figure or make colors overcast, but rather intensifies their presence. The deep orange at her waist gives off the same mood as even the lightest shade, such as the pale orange on her knee. Overall, the backlight strengthens the positive mood of the painting.