Blog
2/27/2017 8:05:43 AM
The biggest difference in working from life verses working from a photograph is time. When you work from life there is always a time limitation which forces you to identify the most important elements in the composition and record them before they go away. Working from a live model you have sessions that last a few hours with breaks for the model scheduled every 30 minutes. In plein air painting you only have 15 minutes of the same light on a sunny day. Plein air painters learn to quickly capture the pattern of light and shadow before it changes.
With a photograph there is no limitation on time. The model will stay in the same pose, the sun is stationary. This is both a blessing and a curse. You can work on the painting whenever you choose and your reference will always be the same. The problem is when there is no time limit there is no pressure to edit the information being added to your work and unnecessary details can overwhelm the main focus. The painting becomes a reproduction rather than a personal expression.
To see the difference in working from life and a photograph try this exercise below.
Extend your arm as far as you can in front of you so you can view your entire hand and spread your fingers wide. While staring at only your thumb, how much of your little finger you do see? It should become a blur. Now shift your gaze to your little finger and now your thumb will go blurry. Think about painting your hand. In reality you would only have one finger in complete focus. Next shoot a photo of your hand with the fingers spread and take an entire week to paint it. It will be easy to make each finger equally detailed and important.
You can use this small area of focus to create better paintings when you are working from a photo. Choose one area in your painting to be the most important. That is where you should add details, make sharp edges and apply thick paint. The rest of the painting should act as a support. That means less detail, softer edges and thinner paint. If it feels overworked remove details that take away from your main focus - even if they are in the photograph. Knowing how to interpret a photograph is the key to creating paintings that are more than reproductions. In my next blog post I will discuss other limits to working from photographs and how to compensate for them.
The reference I used for Cloche. I wanted to focus on the red hat and the cool light hitting the nose and top of the lip. Everything else is softened.
Cloche 12x12 Oil
I will be teaching a workshop Expressive Portraits from Photographs: all medium, April 28-30, Grosse Pointe Art Center, War Memorial. Grosse Pointe, Michigan. For more information click here
2/20/2017 10:05:42 AM
A simple change that can have a profound impact when you work from life is to check the position of your easel. If the easel is positioned so that you can view your subject and your painting at the same time then it is easier to compare the differences. If the easel is turned away from your subject, and you have to turn you head, then you are no longer making direct comparisons which can lead to painting from assumption rather than truth. It is a small change that can make a big difference in your work and you won't need to visit a chiropractor after each painting session.
My studio set up for Golden Flow. Notice how the paper and the still life can be viewed together. My snazzy rolling cart of pastels is next to the easel.
2/13/2017 8:56:46 AM
Sometimes I don’t want to paint. My muse may be dozing or everyday distractions keep me away from the easel. It’s easy to complain and think, “I don’t have time to paint.” This can be dangerous; lapsing into apathy can cause an artist to lose creative momentum. To keep myself motivated I have learned a trick. I set a timer for 15 minutes and during that time I must do something with art. I can work on an ongoing painting; I can draw, or play with watercolor washes; I can do whatever I want as long as there is pencil, pastel, or brush in hand.
When the timer goes off I have two choices: I can stop or continue. For off-my-game days I give credit for the 15 minutes of work and go on with life. Most often I turn off the timer and continue to work. In 15 minutes the muse has been nudged awake and the pleasure of the artistic process takes over. Creativity can be explained by the concept of inertia. An object at rest will remain at rest. An object in motion continues in motion. Many long studio sessions have begun as 15 minute prods. So next time you are feeling uninspired grab a timer and see what you can do.
Fun Fact: If you don’t think you have 15 minutes here is a something to consider: The average commercial break during a one hour show is 15 minutes.
2/6/2017 3:00:40 PM
Winter is a time for studio work and I have been unearthing old paintings and reworking them. The paintings weren’t bad - they were inspirations that never fledged and sat waiting until I had the insight to finish them.
The first time the reference material was my inspiration. I was working from life or a photograph and felt obligated to replicate what was before me. Now without reference the only question becomes what do I want the painting to say? Is it about drama, color, movement, or quiet? The bones of the compositions are there to flesh out any way I choose.
Before: There was some lovely color but too many spots that wanted equal attention.
I cropped the painting and softened edges to make the composition more cohesive.
The enjoyment of working on these comes from a lack of investment. I don’t care if they come out or not. I was unhappy with them in the first place so I can do whatever I like to improve them. Reworking these paintings is studio playtime.
Zigzag got more zip in the reworking of the sky and darkening of the foreground
Another benefit is viewing the work with a seasoned eye. With time and knowledge it is easy to see where compositions went wrong. I can correct shapes and edges, extend value ranges and shift colors. They are a record of an artistic journey and give me an appreciation of my younger self. I remember the joy of learning color and I see that radiate through the early work.
This is a pastel from 20 years ago. I darkened and softened the mid-tones and then cropped it to add mystery to the light source.
Not all of the reworked paintings are successful. Some go back to the shelf to wait again. Those beyond rescue get wiped off or painted over. Successful or not, reworking old paintings has been an enjoyable exercise. The bonus is I am clearing off my shelves and have new paintings to enjoy and market.
