Working from photos has its own challenges. Ideally the photo would be one you have taken, so that you have a feeling for the whole vista and have breathed the air that the scene inhabits. I believe that this psychological connection is important. Sometimes you will be commissioned to paint a scene that someone else has photographed and this can be more difficult unless the photograph is already brilliant! (... and downloading other people's creative photography from the internet without … [Read more...]
Why sketch if you have a camera?
If I want to paint a still life, I set it up very carefully, photograph and crop it, perhaps move the objects or fiddle with the lighting and then photograph it again until I am satisfied. This will take place of the 'thumbnail' or planning sketch. I start drawing with the paintbrush on the canvas, only referring to the photo to get the composition right, but working from the actual still-life. I put the camera away and continue painting. I will hardly refer back to the photo unless I … [Read more...]
Reflections – My year in paintings 2016: part 4
I am looking back at my creative year and goal setting for 2017. This is helping me keep track of the way my work is trending. I'm very keen to work at contemporary landscape this year and with this in mind, took numerous photos of one of our daily views which I titled 'The Lone Tree' - actually an isolated clump of trees on a large hill, or barrow. The site is called Brightwater Barrow and it is next to Wittenham Clumps. My format for this series will probably all be square with a 'Big … [Read more...]