# Help with applying shadow



## Grampy (Jun 7, 2016)

The piece I am working on at the moment is in evening sun with long shadow, this means there is a large area that is in dark shadow. I have tried applying a dark grey wash over this area to allow all the detail below to show through, but I am having difficulty applying it evenly, I have got a problem with lapping and the more I go over it to cover up the dark lapping the darker the shadow gets. It is now a bit too dark. I have thought about using a damp sponge but the painting is almost complete and I don't want to spoil it, so any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers, Steve:crying:


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## Susan Mulno (Apr 13, 2015)

Sorry you're having difficulties, I don't understand acrylic paint but I hope ssomeone can come to the rescue. Good luck.


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Grampy said:


> The piece I am working on at the moment is in evening sun with long shadow, this means there is a large area that is in dark shadow. I have tried applying a dark grey wash over this area to allow all the detail below to show through, but I am having difficulty applying it evenly, I have got a problem with lapping and the more I go over it to cover up the dark lapping the darker the shadow gets. It is now a bit too dark. I have thought about using a damp sponge but the painting is almost complete and I don't want to spoil it, so any advice would be very much appreciated.
> 
> Cheers, Steve:crying:


:surprise:
I wish I could help you Steve but I don't know how to pull this off with Acrylics. This kind of thing is much easier with oil because it's easy to remove the top layer with a little mineral spirits while the piece of the painting is not quite dry. You might try a wet paper towel but if it has dried already that won't work.


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## dickhutchings (Oct 6, 2015)

I hate it when things like that happen. I can only offer a suggestion for the future shadows and there are probably many ways to accomplish this. My way, because I use Ateliar Interactives, is to seal the layers that I'm happy with as I go with glaze or binder. If you don't use these paints, it may be good idea to add them to your arsenal, even just for shadows. Once your satisfied with your normal acrylic painting and it's dry, that's the time to switch to the Interactives. They will wash right off with water while your working with them for a few hours. There is an unlocking formula that you can use the next day or more that will not affect your normal acrylics.

Hope this is helpful in some way.


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## abt2k15 (Jan 9, 2016)

when i have to apply shadow after the paint dried i would go over it with the same color so i have a wet canvas to work with. then i blend in the shadow color.


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## Artfulone3 (Aug 1, 2016)

With out a pic of it it is hard to say exactly. Yes acrylics can be tricky in late areas. Is easy, you can read paint the details you had undershirt the shadow. Then use the retarded medium and make a glaze of the shadow color then you 
can better control the tint of your shadow color.
Shadows however are normally not just one solid color within a shadow are gradations of tone in varying degrees. So it is a blend from one color to the next in subtle shifts. Take a good look at your sourse. See if you can see this happening in the Shadow.


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## HaroldRoth (Aug 5, 2016)

If the shadow is too dark, what you could do is a glaze over the entire painting except the shadows to darken it (or even include the shadow to smooth over unevenness). That way the shadow will no longer look too dark relative to the rest of the painting. I have actually done this when I had problems with shadows not being right.


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