Senior Vice President of Protective & Marine Coatings, Ppg
Search every verified Amy Ericson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Amy Ericson, Senior Vice President of Protective & Marine Coatings at PPG, appeared on the "Mini Madness Day 3" demo on March 22, 2024, hosted by Acrylic University. During the session, Ericson discussed a miniature painting challenge she created focused on three-quarter lighting. She explained that understanding lighting as a phenomenon can help painters make decisions, and described the challenge as an introduction to three-quarter lighting that breaks it down to its simplest iteration. Ericson noted that the lighting depends on the light source's angle relative to the object and the viewer's position, and she identified the "Terminator" as the point where the form turns from the lit side to the shadow side. She also stated that a highlight is a reflection of the light source and has the least to do with the object itself. Ericson demonstrated painting techniques, including using a mixture of bright colors to create gray rather than black, and adjusting highlights with subtle color variations such as pink, yellow, or blue. She recommended using Golden acrylic glazing liquid in satin for thinning paint, and advised that a crisper cast shadow combined with a softer form shadow can make a painting more descriptive. Throughout the demo, Ericson emphasized her enjoyment of the creative process, with host Jed noting her delight in painting for its own sake.
“I decided to focus on lighting... if you can understand the lighting then you can understand that as a phenomenon and it can help you make decisions while you paint.”
“This demo today is like an introduction to three-quarter lighting and breaks it down sort of to the simplest iteration of the phenomenon and then during the challenge every single painting explores it in slightly more complex ways.”
“The cast shadows move to the side... they tell us the direction of the light source, and then the other really important thing is where the highlight is; each piece of fruit has the same lighting on it, so it's a variation on the same phenomenon.”
“One of the most deceptive things about 3/4 lighting is the edge of the object... if you look at the highlight on that blue jug and move to the left where the edge of the jug meets the background it's very common to see that edge as being very bright because it's lit and it's next to a shadowy background; the tendency i...”
“The lighting depends on three things: it depends on the light source and its angle relative to the object, but then it also depends on you and where you are.”
“The exact spot where the form turns from the lit side to the shadow side is called the Terminator.”
“The highlight itself is the least object part of the object — it's really a reflection of the light source, so it really has the least to do with the object.”
“A white object can have some pink, some yellow, some blue in its highlight — as long as none of those things is so dominant that it starts to make the thing look like it has that color.”
“I use the Golden acrylic glazing liquid in satin; it's made for glazing — it thins paint in a silkier way than water, gives a little more flow, and it's got a thicker consistency than water which helps when glazing.”
“One of the easiest ways to make your painting descriptive is to have a crisper cast shadow and a softer form shadow.”
Aimee's New Course: https://www.acrylicuniversity.com/min... Jed's Masterson Sta-Wet Palette: https://bit.ly/2Vnx5wt Jed's Favorite Paint Brush: https://bit.ly/3pDptQG Jed's Recommended Paint Set: https://bit.ly/3ftTaAp Follow Us on Social Media! Instagram: / acrylicuniversity Facebook: / acrylicuniversity
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