How to paint shadows on sunny days

Why shadows are never black

On a bright sunny day, it is tempting to reach for black to paint the shadow under a tree. But look closely: that shadow is rarely flat or dead. Instead, it is a rich mix of cool blues, purples, and reflected colours. The sky acts as a giant blue reflector, bouncing light into every shaded area. Black paint, whether from a tube or mixed, will kill the vibrancy of your scene. Understanding this single truth will transform your sunny-day paintings.

Observing colour in the shade

Before you mix a single colour, spend five minutes just looking. Beneath a white building, the shadow on the pavement will pick up the warm bounce from the sunlit wall opposite—a soft peach or ochre mixed with blue. Colour temperature is your guide: if the sunlight is warm (yellow or orange), the shadows will be cool (blue or purple).

Mixing believable shadow colours

Forget the black tube. Instead, build your darks from transparent, vibrant pigments. A classic shadow mix is ultramarine blue plus a touch of burnt sienna—this gives a neutral, earthy purple-grey that feels alive. For cooler shadows, try dioxazine purple with a hint of phthalo blue. For warmer shadows, add a little alizarin crimson or cadmium red. The key is to keep the mixture transparent and let the underlying colour show through. If it looks like a grey hole, add more blue or purple. If it looks too purple, add a touch of its complement (a tiny bit of yellow) to neutralise it.

• Warm light, cool shadow: Use ultramarine, cerulean, dioxazine purple.
• Cool light, warm shadow: Use burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, or a touch of orange.
• Reflected light: Paint it as a soft glaze or a few visible brushstrokes.
• Never use black straight from the tube. It flattens the scene.

Edges: soft, hard and lost

Shadows on a sunny day do not have crisp outlines like a cartoon. This means most shadow edges are soft—a gradual transition from light to dark. More importantly, look for lost edges, where a shadow blends into a dark local colour or another shadow. For example, the shadow side of a dark green tree might merge with the shadow on the grass beneath it. To paint this, use a damp brush to soften the edge, or drag a dry brush across to create a broken transition. Remember: hard edges attract attention, so save them for the focal point, and let the rest of your shadows melt into softness.

Practical steps for sketching outdoors

When you are out on a sunny day, the light changes fast. Work small and work quickly. Start with a simple pencil or charcoal sketch to establish your large shapes—the sunlit areas and the shadow areas. Mix two puddles of colour: one for the light, one for the shadow. Paint the shadow shapes first in watercolour, or block them in with a thin wash in oils. Keep your shadow colour slightly lighter and more colourful than you think—you can always glaze a darker layer later. Use a viewfinder (a small rectangle cut from card) to isolate a patch of shadow and see its true colour. Finally, step back every ten minutes. Squint. If the shadows look like black holes, lighten them and add more blue or purple.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

The most common pitfall is making shadows too dark. Another is using a single flat colour for all shadows—instead, vary them: some cooler, some warmer, some more purple, some more blue. Watch out for over-blending, which turns soft edges into muddy smudges. Adjust with thin glazes rather than thick paint. With practice, you will start to see shadows as the colourful, soft-edged subjects they truly are—and your sunny-day landscapes will sing.