Johnny Sandler

Layering over chiaroscuro and finding it.


Of all the old masters' painting techniques, glazing is perhaps the most discussed but the least understood. Completely abandoned in the twentieth-century, it was once one of the most valuable tools possessed by painters. In recent years glazing has been called upon by art historians and painters alike to explain every nuance of past masterpieces assuming an almost mystical character.
Split composite and triad complimentary colours used to gray down midtones to make the foreground and pure colours more illuminous this helps create depth and the illusion of a multitude of light sources, I.E. Reflected light, natural light, Neutral light and semi spectrum lighting.

A form shadow is the shadow on a subject on the side that is not directly facing the light source. Or what you might think of as the parts of the subject ‘in the shadow’ because they don’t have direct light on them but also don’t have a cast shadow falling on them. I've sometimes heard it referred to as an area with a "lack of light", which I think makes a nice distinction from what we generally visualize as "shadow".

A form shadow has a softer or less defined edge to it than a cast shadow. It is lighter than a cast shadow because it’s created by light not reaching around the object rather than a shadow being thrown by the object where it directly blocks the light source. Form shadows are subtle shadows, essential for making a subject appear three dimensional rather than flat. The changes in forms shadows requires very careful observation -- squinting at the subject often help you see them more clearly. If most of the subject is in direct light, there will be very little form shadow in it.

Think, for example, of a vase on a table, where the light source is at about two o’clock. The top edge of the vase is in the direct light and there will be a cast shadow made by the vase on the table. The parts of the vase not in direct light are in form shadow.

Not all shadows are equal. There are in fact two very different kinds of shadows that occur in any subject -- cast shadows and form shadows. Identifying these and approaching them differently, rather than just painting a generic ‘shadow’, will enhance any painting or tattoo.

There is more than one light source to create more depth you have to understand that there is a multitude of lightsources that difine the values of your tints, your tones and your shadows where they are how hard or soft they are and where they lay. most of the time it is the shadow underneath that makes your piece look 3-D.

This is how I learned it, if you relax youreyes you will see it for all it is worth and not what you think you know already. There is always more to learn, and if you think you know it all then you should take a step back and recognize when something is created in one of the endless ways to create something..

Johnny Sandler

P.S. I hope that all of this work I do expresses one illustration and that is the diversity of my work, I am an artist, not a one trick pony. the essence of tattooing and all art forms is the constant learning process.

NOTICE.

Johnny Sandler Is no longer taking Regurlar appointments for tattoo work.

I am in a crossroads in my career now I am currently not taking any regurlar clients for tattoo work, I am really selective who I tattoo and I decide what I tattoo on them. I recently worked closely with one fairly well known tattooist who is in alot of books and has worked with some of the top tattooists in the world and It really put a bad taste in my mouth for the whole industry..

I was siting in his studio and I was drawing and one of his employees comes to me and said to me Is that all you ever do is draw? and I said yeah and he snickered and turned his back walked away and said he hasn’t picked up a pencil in two years. ... This is someone who was supposed to be a draftsman someone who draws for a living.. I followed and found out that 95% of people in the tattoo industry and the really well known people don’t or rarely draw. They do everything on computers from lining through the grayscales to the colour and highlights… Basically paint by numbers..

I quit as soon as I found this out…

They had the nerve to commission me on to pick my brain about art and To find out that they were all glorified tracers, really put me off…

No wonder there is such negativity to tattooing…

I do everything from my head and hands…

If I do cut a corner it is to save time and only to save time because priveleged tools that help us conserve our time should not be abused.

They are convienent but they should never be relied on.. I believe you should never use these tools unless you can do it by hand yourself.

Most of these people rely on these tools and cannot do it by hand.

There are select few who can do it by hand and are oldschool and only these people can call themselves artists.

If you would like an original piece done by me in my painterly tattoo style then you can contact me for a consultation. I will be tattooing exclusively with a local tattooist and painter in his secluded studio by appointment only.