My regular readers know I’ve been more and more attracted to the idea of being able to paint dappled light, consciously, and hopefully, eventually more spontaneously.
I titled my post to include both “conundrum” – which I kept misspelling til I looked it up 😊 – and “caldron” – which I keep feeling my creative heart and mind are swimming in (over their heads) lol!
I’ve viewed a few videos, read a few articles, and scratched out a few studies – but – realized the other night I was pursuing too haphazardly.
I realized I need to do more than dabble with something so dappled 😏 — so I saved a chunk of YouTube videos to a category folder I named “dappled light”, created an image album of samples images I like (also named “dappled light”, and started searching for articles.
Among the things I’ve noticed are —
- Some artists used a lot of the same size same shape dapples – which is fine of course
- The medium the artist uses can deeply affect the intensity and shapes of dapples
- Mixtures of soft and hard edge dapples won’t in themselves ruin or hurt an image
- If the light/shadow dappling source, ie, manmade things (power lines, fences etc) or trees or clouds is not visible, there’s a certain magic for what makes the dappled light on the ground or person or building etc actually work
- Whether the artist is realist (even hyper-realist), impressionist, or strongly expressionist does not seem to affect the effect of the dappled light, except within that art style itself and how it affects the viewer and his or her preferences
- Even abstract art can have its own sense of dappled-ness! (See tweet further below)
- And, it’s much easier for me to “see” dappled light and capture it photographically, than it is for me to paint (see image further below), and I want to change that, balance it out much more, even if impressionistically vs photo-realist (the latter never being something I did, never having the patience and skill set).
My goal for now, though more focussedly ( if such a word 😊 ) is to continue studying, continue building a body of line drawings to practice upon, and start to more steadily ( that’s a word ☺️ ) share what I learn as I learn it.
Like cooking (at least with me, lol!) some creations will be really good, and some’ll be a huge mess!
But if I really want to learn how “I” want to do dappled light, this is my only way.
I couldn’t decide, from all the list above, where to start –
So I went back to a blog post about one of my watercolors on paper I’d titled, “Figureshttps://felipeadanlerma.com/2021/09/07/september-04-2021-figures-in-a-landscape-study-im-calling-it-done-but-i-know-its-not/ in a Landscape Study” – I’m Calling it Done! (but I know it’s not) – knowing it wasn’t the right size figures for the light variations I wanted, but the easiest thing I could get to, and just dig into it making it more what I’d like with all these “dappled” thoughts in my head, lol!
And that’s the header image above.
Question is, do I think it’s finished now – uh, no, lol!
I seeing some things though I think I can use more of to bring it to closure, I hope 😊
Meanwhile, here’s two samples below illustrating ideas from my list top of the post (abstract-dappled art & photo-dappled art) —
https://felipeadanlerma.com/2020/02/05/ridges-of-spring-light-new-6×6-watercolor-acrylic-upload-on-fine-art-america/

https://felipeadan-lerma.pixels.com/featured/morning-light-in-barton-springs-greenbelt-austin-poster-felipe-adan-lerma.html
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Related post on my site 😊
https://felipeadanlerma.com/2021/08/17/august-15-2021-my-newest-poster-upload-fineartamerica-morning-light-in-barton-springs-greenbelt-austin-texas-poster/
It’s not much of an iron clad plan, as a path through the beautiful forest of art around me.
I can deal with that – heck, I think I’ll love that! ❤️
Stay well everyone! 💕
Adan
My Related Posts Here On My Blog
My Related Amazon Affiliate Search Products
https://www.amazon.com/shop/felipeadanlerma
My Amazon search for “dappled light, in books” didn’t bring up what I’d hoped (books with pics of dappled light) but did bring up lots of choices of books where dappled light figured in the title and probably the story or poetry choices offered, kinda nice – tweeted an example below 😊
https://amzn.to/3k78YMi
https://amzn.to/3zaHA48
My Latest Posts On My Website!
- Sold! At SaatchiArt — Tender is the Night 2024 – With much thanks to my buyer in Brooklyn NY!“Not only am I grateful to my Brooklyn buyer, but also to Saatchi Art that literally navigated me through the ice-storm prolonged process last month here Austin!”
- New Painting Series – Island Land Trail Sunset Vermont 2026 – Gaining Perspective About My Experience of Painting Doing Series of SeriesIt’s a welcome surprise to realize how rich one’s life experience can be, even within seemingly single short time frames themselves! I feel this new small study, with its misty soft blues and distant vistas is a nice reflection of that.
- Voter ID – ReVisiting John R. Lewis’ 2021 Voting Rights Proposal That Failed – What’s Different Now – And Why Not Debate it With the Current 2026 Voting Rights – Together?This is a short post I seldom write up. A political post. Understandly so. There’s a lot of the usual “they” don’t want this or that now talk from this or that political party.
- Are We at Our Kent State Moment? – One by One the Women Came and Said, It’s Time 2026 9×12 acrylic on canvas panel – by Adan – @SaatchiArt 😊“I still vividly remember the images on TV 1970 of students my age shot and on the ground during a demonstration against the Vietnam War”
- 1st Cabin Light Finished Painting 2026Saturations of sky and earth roll and rest spin like a first slow dance in junior high – middle school the grandkids laugh and tell me they think I make all this up just to be funny 😊
- 1st Cabin Light Study 2 2025Yes. The new day has begun….
- 1st Cabin Light Study 1 2025I wasn’t sure when to stop but my own waves of self, conscious of the need to rest joined the earth before me, an image shaped by pigments from itself.
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Thanks again, everyone! 😊
Adan

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