Learning - Daylight Light Painting - DAMIEN ROBINSON

Daylight Light Painting

Light painting (also called light writing, light graffiti and light art) is long-exposure photography using lights to create patterns and shapes, and add effects into the photo not there in real life. Light painting does not impact physically on objects or buildings since the light is only captured on camera. The process usually takes place at night or in very dark environments, which can create access difficulties.

Daylight Light Painting evolved as a response, allowing me to work in daylight and creating a safer, more user-friendly approach, allowing participants to focus on their creativity. While we need to be able to subdue the lighting, the workspace does not need to be blacked out – think of an overcast or grey rainy day as being the light level to emulate.

Four children playing with light tools , all looking at an unseen screen. The artist is on the left of the picture, guding them.

The process has been used with different age groups (including adults) and with different learning aims (or none at all - just for the fun of it). There are additional cross-curricular links as well as making opportunities to develop custom tools. The project examples below show some outcomes, and many more are possible. If you are interested in developing a workshop with me using this technique, drop me a line via the form here.

Beam County Primary School (for Bow Arts)

Process-lead commission at Beam County Primary School for Bow Arts. Across six contact days children from two SEN classes experimented with DIY torch kits, custom-made lights and group movement to create imagery. On the final day they shared their skills and learning with their parents who joined us to make collaborative pictures rooted in their love and connection.

The photographs were then developed into a series of designs now installed across a range of sites at the school (Jan '25) for everyone to enjoy.

PictureSilhouette of a seated young boy on right with his father standing on the left. They hold hands arms. They are silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light.

Silhouette of a young boy standing with outstretched arms He is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light.

Silhouette of a young girl on left standing with her mother on the right. Both hold their arms above their heads. They are silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light.

Workshop image showing the artist on right and children on left. All sit on the floor in a school classroom. The artist is showing light tools.

Silhouette of a pregnant woman facing to the left. She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of softly textured light.

Beecroft Gallery: for City Jam Festival (2023)

Silhouette of young girl with arms raised above her head, standing like a dancer. She is sillhouetted by coloured circles of dotted light.

Silhouette of a woman seated in a wheelchair, facing to the right . She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light.

Silhouette of a woman standing with her arm on her hip facing to the front. She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light, mainly pink.

Silhouette of a woman facing to the left of the image with outstretched arms, and right leg raised. She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light, mainly green.

Silhouette of a woman standing with her arm on her hip facing to the front/right. She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of dotted light, that look like wings, with a pink halo.

Silhouette of a pregnant woman cradling her bump, facing to the left. She is silhouetted by lines and sweeps of softly textured light.

Some images created during workshops hosted by the Beecroft Gallery as part of Southend's City Jam festival (Sept 2023). Thanks to Rob Sharp, who invited me to run the workshops, and found the perfect "Goldilocks" space (not too light, not too dark), participants were able to develop these fantastic images, using light tools I made and hacked.

Greenvale School - 2022/23

This commission for Bow Arts utilised workshop artwork created by students, which was then designed into a composite image suitable for windows overlooking the school gardens. Bow featured the project on their website: Painting with Light at Greenvale School.

Coloured dots (red shades) creating silhouetted leaf shapes, with school garden seen in the gaps.

Multicoloured dots of light creating silhouetted leaf shapes, against a black background.

Coloured dots (red shades) creating silhoutted leaf shapes, with school garden seen in the gaps.

Multicoloured swirls of dots (red and yellow at centre), creating abstract shapes with a transparent background. The school gardens can be seen behind.

Multicoloured swirls of dotted light, creating abstract shapes against a black background.

Creative Open Day - Focal Point Gallery 2023

Scheduled to coincide with the Luminosity public art event, participants created paper cut-outs used as masks enabling unique light paintings to be created with a shared light tool kit.

Digifest - Focal Point Gallery 2022

Delivered as part of the gallery's 2022 programme aimed at inspiring participants to explore creativeness through the ever-growing digital world, through moving image, music and sound. Images from this event will be exhibited at the gallery as part of the 'S for Southend 2023' exhibition. Some workshop images will be added here following that exhibition.

Beecroft Gallery - 2019

To accompany the "Colour" exhibition, I ran a series of Daylight Light Painting workshops at the Beecroft Gallery. Ninety-five participants worked with me to create a range of images, which were displayed at the Beecroft as part of the exhibition (until April 2020).

Bow Arts cross-school partnerships - 2018

This involved leading two cross-school partnerships focusing on SEND and digital engagement. Each partnership included one mainstream school and one specialist SEND school, working to design and make light tools, and to work collaboratively on creating the light painting. This project (summer/autumn terms 2018) involved young people with a range of physical and learning access requirements, involving Key Stage 2 and 3 students.

"The project was fantastic and I’m pleased I was able to observe the results of all your and the students hard work".
(Partnership 1)

"Thanks again for the effort that you put into this project. I think it was a real success and the images that we have of the children's art are proof! ...feedback from all of the children and adults who attended the exhibition was extremely positive and will leave a lasting impact of collaboration between the schools." (Partnership 2)

Tate Modern - 2018

Shape was at Tate Exchange 1-4 March 2018, running a diverse programme entitled Ghosts In The Machine. Invited to participate in this event, I devised two linked workshop approaches, entitled "Object-Orientation" with the aim of sharing and showcasing the resultant works. ‘Orientation’ uses light painting techniques adapted for daylight working, to capture individual movement and gesture. Movement can involve the whole body or one finger; it is the individuality that is the focus rather than scale. For this event I worked with artist Walter Reid, creating and exploring new light tools for participants to use. You can see more about this project here

Art/Science programme; Northwick Primary - 2017

I was invited to develop a cross-curricular art/science day for Northwick, working with student groups. The theme for the workshops was 'Light" which made light painting a perfect project. Students learned in creative ways about the science of light, made their own simple torches and then experimented with painting. A separate CPD session for staff enabled them to consolidate learning across the school. Following this event, Northwick developed outcomes enabling them to achieve a Gold level Primary Science Quality Mark.

"A large part of our evidence required us to demonstrate that science is cross-curricular, fun, practical and engages the children - your sessions, and the follow-up work that we were able to do using our new skills, provided excellent evidence for all of these areas and other schools were very interested in the techniques and activities that you used. Thanks again for helping make our science days such a success!"

Library Fest, 2015

The technique was initially developed for work with deaf young people, but proved so successful I began rolling it out for other - in this case for 6 drop-in workshops across West Berkshire for Library Fest 15, working with over 100 participants to achieve Light Graffiti imagery on some very sunny days.

NDCS workshops 2014-15

Daylight light painting was initially developed for work with deaf young people, and I was invited to work on several NDCS projects, including "Helping Hands" workshops (an in-school buddy/mentoring programme), plus residential art activity weekends. This involved work with both mixed age and ability groups across a wide range of settings.

"Mega thanks for another superbly delivered workshop...Some more positive feedback for you, one of the students at the Lincoln workshop has gone on to pick Media as one of his GSCE options this year and he said it was because of what you did."