What is it about photos which make them difficult as sources for paintings? It seems like everything is flattened, the shadows are lifeless and the drama falls short. Lately I've been trying to work from photographs if I have done a study on site. The true values and color notes provide accurate guidelines for a proper painting. Photographs lie and distort, but not in a good way.
Last summer I was painting in Capitol Reef National Park when this mesa was suddenly lit up in a magical way. I snapped away for a few minutes with my Canon but the rendition wasn't what I was feeling. There wasn't time to set up my rig and paint as I had just scraped my palette clean and packed up.
Ray saw me standing there with my mouth open. He stopped and said, "Just make sure that big shadow isn't a black hole in your painting. Remember that blue on the horizon just above the mesas and keep it simple."
Several months went by before I finally got to the painting. As I looked at the photo the memory of that moment came back to me. For the first time I ignored much of the color and value information in the photo and painted from a different mental place.
Last summer I was painting in Capitol Reef National Park when this mesa was suddenly lit up in a magical way. I snapped away for a few minutes with my Canon but the rendition wasn't what I was feeling. There wasn't time to set up my rig and paint as I had just scraped my palette clean and packed up.
Ray saw me standing there with my mouth open. He stopped and said, "Just make sure that big shadow isn't a black hole in your painting. Remember that blue on the horizon just above the mesas and keep it simple."
Several months went by before I finally got to the painting. As I looked at the photo the memory of that moment came back to me. For the first time I ignored much of the color and value information in the photo and painted from a different mental place.
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