Why Your Shadows Might Look Flat (and How to Fix Them) with Sarah Sedwick
Have you ever finished a still life painting only to realize something feels… off? You’ve got the color, the composition, even the brushwork you like—but the whole thing feels a little lifeless. One sneaky culprit? Your shadows.
Sarah Sedwick (Ep.47) shares a simple trick that can help breathe life into your paintings by improving one often-overlooked element: shadow edges.
The Problem with Flat Shadows
A lot of beginning painters default to filling in shadows as flat, dark shapes. But shadows in real life? They’re far more nuanced than that. They change in softness and shape depending on how far they are from the object casting them.
The Airplane Trick
To make this idea simple, Sedwick offers a brilliant metaphor: imagine a landing airplane.
When the plane is high in the sky, it might cast a faint, soft-edged shadow on the ground below—if any at all. But as the plane gets closer to the ground, its shadow sharpens. By the time it touches the tarmac, the edges are crisp and clearly defined.
Your objects work the same way.
How It Applies to Painting
Let’s say you’re painting a tall vase with a strong directional light from one side. The part of the cast shadow closest to the vase—the part “landing” on the table—is going to have sharper edges. But as that shadow stretches away from the base of the vase, the edges should soften, just like a plane casting a more diffused shadow as it rises into the sky.
It’s a simple visual concept that can completely change how realistic—and interesting—your shadows feel.
Put It to Practice:
Next time you’re working on a still life, don’t just block in a single flat shadow. Instead, try this:
Choose an object like a cup or vase with a clear light source.
Observe or imagine how the shadow changes from close to far away.
Paint the edge of the cast shadow closest to the object with a harder, more defined edge.
Then gradually soften the edges of the shadow as it extends away from the object.
This simple shift in technique will instantly add depth, realism, and sophistication to your work. Remember: you're not just painting shapes. You're painting the way light moves through space.