Original Article

Enhancement in Chromostereopsis due to Effect of Impasto thick paste of colour

 

 

INTRODUCTION

In an era of augmented reality, where images have started to popping up and out, this research paper is written on the very root cause of an illusion that is perceived as a visual depth in an art work, done with colours that cause Chromostereopsis and the physical layering of thick colour called as Impasto.

There are two things that seems to cause a little or more change in visual perception of depth; one is Chromostereopsis, which is an illusion of one layer of colour being ahead than the other layer of colour in a two-dimension art work, whereas the other is a physical layering of Impasto, which causes an exaggerated illusion of depth.

 

There is even a third factor that seems to cause an alteration in the perception of depth, that is the illumination of the colours used. Here the alteration is different. There may be uplifting of the colour layer which has brighter illumination.

 

Hypothesis

Will impasto, which is a thick layering of color, enhance the illusion of depth created by Chromostereopsis? Also, does the illumination of a bright colour used in the back drop alter the whole process of Chromostereopsis?

 

Chromostereopsis

·        Chromostereopsis is a type of visual perception where a specific colour is perceived closer to or farther from the observer than the other colours in a plane pattern.

·        “Colours on a flat two-dimensional surface can appear to lie in different depth planes. This phenomenon, readily seen on a computer monitor, is called Chromostereopsis.” Thompson et al. (1993)

·        The mechanism is considered to be binocular stereopsis by the chromatic aberration of the eyeball optical subsystem. This possibly occur due to difference of wavelength of the two colours.

“Individual Differences in Chromostereopsis under Natural Viewing Condition” Hayashi et al. (2012)

 

Impasto

“Paintings are generally considered in terms of their (2D) depiction, but the physical artwork also has a third dimension. Artists deliberately created 3D textural effects on the surface. For instance, the use of impasto to create additional reflections for highlights” Willemijn (2019).

“Impasto creates a richly textured, three-dimensional surface that can catch the light or create tiny areas of shadow, enhancing the drama of a painting”. Willemijn (2019).

 

 

“This artwork by Vincent Van Gogh depicts thick colours (Impasto) uses.

“In the work by Elkhuizen and colleagues investigated the rheology of white paints, specifically lead white and zinc white, to explain how Vincent Van Gogh achieved his famous impasto technique”

“Impasto is an additive technique that creates a tangible, three-dimensional surface, strengthening the sense of depth and layers.” Baxter et al. (2004).

“Research consistently highlights that the raised surfaces of impasto catch light differently, creating a dynamic interplay of light and shadow that changes with the viewer's position or the light source's angle.” Baxter et al. (2004).

 

Method

Although, there is no research on the use of a combination of Impasto and the Colours causing Chromostereopsis to study Visual Enhancement of depth in either of the two; Chromostereopsis and Impasto. So, I had no choice but to depend on Experiments to assess my hypothesis. I conducted different experiments to depict Chromostereopsis, and enhancement of its effect by adding elements of Impasto. I am enlisting my experiments and their findings here one by one and discussing their results in relation to my hypothesis.

 

Experiment One

 

·        I selected to paint tints and shades of orange and vermilion alongside of tints and shades of different Blues on plain sheet of paper.

·        The material used were acrylic colours with water as solvent, on cold pressed 300 gsm sheet from Canson.

Findings: A positive “Chromostereopsis” effect was found on plain sheet of Paper, using only the high contrast colours.

 

Experiment Two

Chromostereopsis on textured (Impasto) paper

 

·        In the second experiment, I applied thick paste of self-prepared Impasto Figure 5, which was later painted with complementary colours bearing Chromostereopsis effect

·        I selected to paint tints and shades of orange and vermilion on upper layer of dried impasto, the higher layer of texture, and tints and shades of different Blues on the lower layers of the texture.

·        An increased positive “Chromostereopsis” effect was found as compared the same set of colours applied on a plain surface sheet (Experiment One)

 

Experiment Three

 

Here, I reversed the placement of paint by applying the tints and shades of different Blues on the upper layer of an impasto (the higher layer of texture) and tints and shades of orange and vermilion on the lower layers of the texture.

Some strange results are seen here, as I see

·        The blue colour that was painted on the upper part of the texture has receded and seen as the far colour. 

·        The orange and vermilion, which was painted on the lower surface of the texture, seems to have come up and seen as the near colour.

 

Discussion

·        While Experiment One reconfirmed the known effects of Chromostereopsis, which is realisation of depth in two contrasting colour layers.

·        Experiment two showed an enhancement in the illusion of depth with additional use of Impasto as first layer, followed by colouring with colour-pair that causes Chromostereopsis

·        The experiment three shows some interesting things. The orange along with vermilion, which were painted on the lower layer seems to have lifted the surface to the extent that it looked nearer to the observer, and the blue had receded to the extent that it not only nullified the raised impasto surface, but took it further down to show the blue to be far.

·        One observation is that the orange was not made dull. Hence probably the illumination of it brought it near to the observer.

 

Expected outcome

·        Although it will be little too early to conclude, however, relearning with the dual effect of the depth with Chromostereopsis and Impasto may bring about a new understanding in the latest of the science of creating depth in the paintings, murals, and other forms of Art.

·        The question for further analysis: Is this research paper leading to a new practice of an enhanced visual effect in art of Painting? And my emphasis is that “Is this enough of proof to call it a beginning of Chromo-Impasto-ism.

·        Further study on illumination effect of different colours and formation of their pair for effect of Chromostereopsis should be carried out to make it more practical for use in the practice.

·        A comparative study of the Stiles-Crawford effect (as mentioned by Thompson and et al), to this nearing of the surface due to illumination may also be carried out to further explain the illusion experienced here by the author.

  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I want to thank my mother Late Shiv Mohini Bhatia to have brought me to this world and give me this instinct to do an artwork and also a thoughtfulness to analyse it. At times I feel that it is she who does it and I am just a channel.

I sincerely want to thank my guide Dr. Kumkum Bharadwaj, HOD (DandP), Maharani Laxmi bai Govt. Girls Post Graduate college, Kila Maidan, Indore, to always motivate and encourage me to write this paper.

 

REFERENCES

Baxter, W. V., Wendt, J., Lin, M. C., et al. (2004). IMPaSTo: A Realistic, Interactive Model for Paint. Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Non-Photorealistic Animation and Rendering. https://doi.org/10.1145/987657.987665  

Hayashi, T., Kawai, Y., and Sakata, Y. (2012). I-Perception.

Thompson, P., May, K., and Stone, R. (1993). Chromostereopsis: A Multicomponent Depth Effect. Vision Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/0141-9382(93)90093-K

Willemijn, S. E. (2019). This is Not a Painting: Scanning and Printing a Painting’s Appearance. In T. W. J. Callewaert (Ed.).