I'm deep into two new books , both of which are fascinating: The Grapes of Math and How Not to be Wrong. I began the latter first but made the mistake of reading tidbits to Jon; before I knew it, he was reading over my shoulder and then holding the book. Hmmm. Never mind. Both books hop, skip and jump through the major discoveries of mathematics, every one of which represented a quantum leap in human understanding. I particularly loved the description of Thales around 600 BCE realizing that he could calculate the height of the Great Pyramid simply by measuring the height of his staff, the length of the shadow it cast, and the angle from the ground to the pyramid's apex. And with that, he invented trigonometry!
My squirrelly brain immediately jumped to the issue of shadows and how much other information they contain. Outdoor shadows on white -whether snow or dress shirts, for example- reflect a myriad of blues whenever the sun is shining. Because shadows contain elements of both the object and the surface on which they fall, when that surface is already coloured life gets interesting. Painters sweat this issue and our most successful paintings often feature a great shadow. Now I shall go hunting for a decent example. Watch this space... Got one!
My squirrelly brain immediately jumped to the issue of shadows and how much other information they contain. Outdoor shadows on white -whether snow or dress shirts, for example- reflect a myriad of blues whenever the sun is shining. Because shadows contain elements of both the object and the surface on which they fall, when that surface is already coloured life gets interesting. Painters sweat this issue and our most successful paintings often feature a great shadow. Now I shall go hunting for a decent example. Watch this space... Got one!
It was the shadows on her face and in her hair that made me want to paint this!
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