We were having this discussion about painting from photographs and how there seemed to be something lacking, no matter how hard we tried. Cathe, my good friend and author of a foundational book on landscape painting (HERE), said that it was all about the asking. I said that it was all about not having something speak to me. As it turned out, we were talking from different sides of the same coin.
When Cathe goes outdoors to do art she asks for a painting and says the world eventually answers with a gem of an idea. When I go out I wait for something to catch my eye and I respond to it. Call and response, but in one case the artist does the calling and in the other the world speaks first. Which are you?
The other day I wondered just how many paintings out of the thousands I have done were from photos....so I counted. There weren't many so it was easy to do. In this blog you are looking at number 11 and 12, Evening Lighthouse, 10x12, and Dry Land Desert, 11x13. The last blog entry, Deanna's Sunflowers, was number 13.
I find photo painting a stretch because not only is a lot of information not there but nothing vibrant and living is speaking to me. As a result I have to work hard to generate that missing stuff from imagination and memory as best I can.
Call and Response. What is your experience....and how do you deal with it? I'd love to know.
Beautiful nature related Painting.Nice work done.expert portrait oil painting artists have transformed various types of photos to paintings and recreated world-famous oil paintings from the old masters.
ReplyDeleteI think your sunflower painting proves you can paint well from photographs Darrell! In my case..I think it is very important to get proficient in painting from life, before moving to photos...since you must be very color-inventive...In order to keep painting consistently every day I feel I must work from photos too. In fact I work mostly from photos in the winter when it is hard to get out every day.Wether life or photos, it's still brush miles and you can improve your brush stroke and techniques either way.....All that said, let's get out and paint soon!(as soon as it warms up!=])
ReplyDeleteI am of the "catch my eye" variety as well. And then there is the need/attempt to capture that and communicate it. In fact, contemplating this, I glanced out the window and a couple of pink roses with a background of bare branches and thick fog caught my eye - the bright pink standing out in the grey and the ironic juxtaposition of the winter bareness and blooming flower. A camera is quicker to capture than the oil paints. :)
ReplyDeleteMY LIFE HAS BEEN ABOUT LOOKING AND PROCESSING - NOT NECESSARILY SEEING. HAVING FOCUSED THRU A LENS OF SKILLS DERIVED FROM AXIOMS LEARNED THRU MY PROFESSION AS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, I HAVE MISSED SEARCHES BASED ON GREAT STUDY OF LITERATURE OR INFLUENCES BY THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS. A YEAR OF STUDY HAS GONE BY AND I FOUND EXPOSURE TO THOSE THAT TEACH THE ARTS AS PROFESSION SHED LIGHT ON THE WAY I SEE TO MY ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE GLORIOUS WORLD AROUND ME. IF I AM LUCKY TO BE AS A POET AND CONNECT AN INTERESTING IDEA OR EMOTION THAT SINGS TO ANOTHER, I WOULD BE SATISFIED. YET REALLY I JUST WANT THE SEARCH TO BE INTERESTING WHETHER PAINT IS APPLIED OR MY EYES ARE BRIGHTENED. I SEE NOW THAT MY PHOTOGRAPHY IS LACKLUSTER. THIS LAST YEAR HAS SHOWN ME IT IS A POOR REFERENCE FOR MORE THAN ORIGINAL LAYOUT WHICH I END UP MANIPULATING ANYWAY. EACH LESSON TEACHES ME TO OPEN UP TO WAYS OF UTILIZING PAINT OR HONING SKILLS IN DRAWING, BUT MORE - APPRECIATING THE WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND ASKING THE QUESTIONS OF WHY.....SO YES I 'SEE' FOR INSPIRATION FIRST. PLEIN AIR! THANK YOU FOR POSING THE QUESTION DARRELL. RANDY
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