White In the Light

White has often been said to be the absence of color. In order to make white convincing we need to express first white in the light as well as the shadow.
On the right is an example of Henry Hensche's resent auctioned painting shown at the PAAM.
Clearly a typical silhouetted  outdoor portrait, Henry painted the white blouse very cool without being just some blue formula.

Clearly the white is many colors and their reflections holding within the mass.
Students hate to paint simple blocks because they aren't as exciting as the model or landscape; the struggle with white can be reduced through those exercises.

The White on the shoulders is not the white of the board it's a particular color, that relates to all the light planes.

Dulah Evans a student of Hawthorne, expresses an almost tour deforce of white in painter's on the beach.Hensche always said, "white in the shade is deeper than blue in the light. You can see all the reflections of color expressing the shade.

close up of hat by Dulah Evans

Dulah Evans oil on Masonite courtesy of Jim Bakker

The Hat below is a great example of this fundamental truth.