Blog

Sorry for the radio silence.  I think I intimidated myself a bit with that last post.  I set a high bar for Color Lovers Part 2, but I'm going to get to work on that one this week.   In the meantime, I'll share with you one of my latest paintings, Pitt Tavern Still Life.  This one was a good reminder that if I like the photo, I'll probably really like the finished piece too.

I've found I love painting from digital photographs.  In school, we were taught never to paint from a photo.  Everything had to be from life.  But that was prior to the use of digital cameras, and we definitely didn't have access to editing apps.  I think the instructors were also rightfully concerned about protecting the work of other artists, but rest assured, I only work from my own pictures.  

Here's what I love about it though.  I have a camera (phone) in my pocket at all times, so if I see a scene I like, I can record it.  The image isn't lost through the sieve of my memory.  Often, I can take several photos and choose the one I like best later.  Between this and the cropping tool, I've almost eliminated the need to do thumbnail sketches.  And, the still life stays still!  No one coming by and moving things.  The fruit doesn't rot.  The light doesn't change.  If I want to paint the scene two months later at 2 o'clock in the morning, I can.

Here's where it gets really great.  Once I've saved the photo, I can pull it up on my larger laptop screen to paint from.  Twenty years ago, if a painter was working from a printed snapshot, so much of the detail and color variation were lost.  There simply wasn't enough information available to make a painting from.  Now, not only is it all there, but I can zoom in to look at the image in greater detail with a swish of my fingers! 

Painting from digital photos takes away so many logistical and compositional concerns that it allows me to focus on the painting process specifically.  Because, and this may come as a surprise, I'm not trying to copy the image.  While I'm painting, I ask myself what details are important and which should be omitted?  Am I using color effectively?  Where should the marks have more or less energy?  Where should the edges be sharper or softer?  My effort goes into making a successful painting, not a copy of the photograph.

So, I hope you enjoy this one.  I dropped it off yesterday at Bouy Gallery in Kittery, ME, for their 11th annual ArtPM exhibit.   The opening is on the 13th at 6pm, and this exhibit will stay open until May 1.  Love to see you there!